Darkness Follows
by GabrielleJeane
Summary: Loki is sent to Midgard as the final attempt at redemption and finds himself stranded in the middle of Antarctica with a small group of scientists working for Tony Stark but the brutal murders of scientists from nearby base camps threaten his rehabilitation along with the burgeoning relationship between him and the lead physicist. *changes have been made from original publishing*
1. Chapter 1

**Asgard, 2014 **

"Brother," Thor announced regally from atop his shining throne, "it has been a year since I retrieved you from earth," Loki clenched his teeth at the use of the word 'retrieve', it made him feel as though he were a puppy that had gotten lost, "a year of punishment, of torture… how do you fare?" Thor asked sincerely, having worried himself sick more nights than none over the welfare of his brother whose screams could be heard all throughout the palace some nights. Odin insisted it was for the best, that Loki 'would learn from his mistakes' via this brutal, outlandish misery he was subjected to. Now he stood before the new king looking worn and angry; the fury was evident in his gaze whereas his composure was nothing short of flawless, the regal air about him was so thick it was nearly tangible.

"I fare well." Loki responded through clenched teeth. His arms were chained together tightly while guards on either side of him held the ends of the chain; he truly felt like a dog. He casually glanced at Odin who sat in a smaller throne beside Thor, his gaze ever so piercing and calculating. Loki looked to Thor's right and saw Frigga; he felt the intense burning ache in his chest at the thought that this loving woman was not his mother even though he'd grown up believing it was. Simply knowing that was adequate torture, seeing her made it all the more painful.

"That is good to hear," his eyes landed on Thor for the first time since entering the court room. He could barely bring himself to look at his traitorous brother knowing that he was the rightful heir to the throne of Asgard, "Allow us to get to the point." Loki wondered how much it pained Thor to be away from his pathetic human, he thought it sickening the fact that Thor would sully himself to even speak to a human let alone engage romantically with one.

"By all means brother," he ground out, "get to the point." He smiled, hoping his anger was obvious.

"We have brought you here to discuss the final part of your punishment." Thor informed Loki who simply rolled his eyes and exhaled heavily, already growing bored with the talk he'd been receiving for over a year about how he needed to change his ways.

"And what would that be?" he asked.

"The same punishment I received when I was being childish." Thor responded bitingly, his patience wearing thin with how snarky his brother was acting. He genuinely hoped that this would show him the error of his ways and save him; if not there was no other option than death, it was too dangerous to keep someone like Loki around carrying the fury and hatred that he did and as the king he had to make the call. This was the last ditch effort to help his brother.

"Which was?" Loki inquired.

"We are sending you to earth," Thor responded levelly, praying Loki's reaction would not be nearly as atomic as he was thinking it would be; he was taken aback when Loki looked towards the ceiling and released a loud thunderous roar of laughter.

"Surely you jest brother," Loki looked back at Thor who was sitting there, baffled, "do you honestly believe this will help me?"

"I am hoping it will," Thor responded slowly. Standing swiftly he walked down the gilded steps towards his brother whose malice was growing with every step taken towards him until his brother was standing a scant few inches from his shackled form; his eyes wide and desperate, "our mother has foreseen it, she tells of this being good… of it working," Thor almost pleaded, a tear falling from his eye, "do it for her… for your mother who loves you dearly." Loki hissed angrily at this; knowing full well Thor was using his solitary weakness against him. Unwillingly his gaze fluttered to Frigga who was standing beside the throne sobbing into her hands; her pain tangible from where they stood across the room from her.

"Even if you swear me off, if you hate me for the rest of your days… at least do it for her." Loki looked back at his brother still pleading like a desperate child before him. The dark part of him reveled in the image of someone so powerful begging before him while the rest of him was aching from the sheer agony this was causing.

But he knew better than to let it show.

"And if I don't?" Loki tested. Thor sighed and closed his eyes, letting his head fall.

"Then you shall die." He whispered. Loki ground his teeth at this, knowing full well it had been the reality of his situation all along but not grasping the gravity of it until the king affirmed that it would surely be the outcome were he not to fix the error of his ways.

"Wouldn't that just burn you?" Loki began, "it would be a loss for you; I win and you lose. You try to rehabilitate me and I fight you every step of the way until you finally give in and slaughter me as though I were no more than cattle." He reveled in the opportunity to use Thor's tactics against him; to play his weakness.

"Are you so naïve brother?" Thor demanded loudly, his head snapping up and his hand going to the back of Loki's neck to grip him fiercely, "you think this a game? Are you so willing to be right that you would allow yourself death just to make me suffer?" he shouted. Loki let his lips curl up in a dark smirk; this was the exact outcome he had been hoping for. For Thor to feel a semblance of the pain he'd been plagued with for over a year.

"You doubt me?" Loki retorted. Thor's grip loosened minimally before he sighed and dropped his hand.

"That is the unfortunate part brother; I don't doubt you for a moment," Thor whispered and stepped back, looking to the guards now, "take him to the balcony."

##

Thor stood beside Loki along with his parents and a handful of guards. Loki had long since been released from his shackles and Thor was placing a large gold band over his right arm which reached from his wrist to elbow.

"This is the equivalent of the Midgard punishment of house arrest." Loki commented snidely, smiling.

"This is to ensure you find no way to use your powers or bring harm to those around you. When and if you do you shall soon find out what this," he tapped the metal band with his index finger, "can do. Even though we stripped you of your magic years ago there is no telling what could happen so this is… insurance." Thor rubbed his forehead in frustration and stood back. Odin and Frigga stepped forward and grasped Thor's outstretched hands with theirs forming a line before Loki who stood looking at them like they'd lost their minds. Part of him was doubtful they would be able to conjure up enough dark magic to catapult him to Midgard but the other part of him was sorely worried that they would be able to do it.

"Have you any last words before we send you?" Thor asked. Loki digested this question carefully; not wanting to give his brother any reason to expedite his death sentence.

"Don't hold out hope." He muttered, looking at his mother. They all looked like they'd been punched in the gut, Frigga was so near tears it nearly broke Loki until he looked at his brother and the flame of fury reignited within him. Thor ignored the comment to the best of his ability and focused, along with the other two, on harnessing just enough of his magic to envelope Loki.

"Brother," Thor began, "I send you to Midgard in hopes it will aid in your rehabilitation. Your powers have been stripped from you," he and the other two looked to their left at a small burgeoning void that was forming ever so slowly in midair. After the Bifrost had been destroyed interstellar travel was nigh unheard of whilst they were rebuilding the structure to the best of their abilities. However travelling amongst the stars to other worlds was possible but only once every few months and by only the most experienced of sorcerers of which only Loki and Frigga were of those who resided in the palace, "when you so prove yourself worthy your powers shall return to you along with this." They released hands in unison and Thor walked to a small pedestal behind him that held Loki's signature helmet. He gazed at it longingly, a symbol of his nobility and magical prowess, as Thor whispered into it the sacred enchantment of old then tossed it into the n0w large void.

Loki looked back at his family; his spite larger than it had ever been and walked towards the swirling mass of black nothingness. He offered Frigga one single glance of the love he held for her before falling into the abyss.

##

Once his eyes opened he was assaulted with the purest, most blinding white wind ever beheld. His mind registered the bitingly frigid temperature but he quickly adjusted; his Frost giant blood giving him a stark advantage.

He began standing right as a small human, no larger than a child, covered in thick black clothing, wearing a pair of goggles and a fur lined hat ran up to him against the strong current of wind fighting against them and shoved some sort of device in his face that beeped and binged at him.

"Who are you?" The person demanded in a shockingly sweet tone that took him aback slightly. The person flipped a thing on the side of the goggles that removed the dark shading as though they were flipping a switch and suddenly Loki could see their eyes, "How did you get out here?" they asked.

His mouth was open in a response just before he felt his legs giving out and found himself falling to the ground. The travel had taken its toll on him and sleep was fast approaching like it usually did whenever they travelled without the Bifrost.

"Oh my god!" The person called out and rushed over to him, grabbing his shoulders and holding him tightly against a form far too soft to be anything but a woman. She cradled his head in her lap and moved her hat and goggles just enough so he could get a good look at her before blacking out.

"You're…" he muttered quietly, staring up at her bright green eyes, "gorgeous for a human."


	2. Chapter 2

"**Independence Initiative" Research Outpost**

**0.5 miles east of the Getz Ice Shelf, Antarctica**

**-50 degrees, wind speed 30 mph**

**November, 2014**

"He's a charmer." Dr. Rayne Thornton muttered to herself as she stared down at the unconscious blue man on her lap. The fact that he was blue shocked her little to say the least; as of late they had been encountering more alien life forms than humans especially in this region of the world. What puzzled her most was how he got here, what he was doing here and how she was going to get him back to base camp him being twice her size and all. She sighed and replaced her goggles over her eyes lest they freeze from the beyond frigid temperature. She began standing and slowly lowered his head to the icy ground so she could grab him by his arms and drag him towards the tiny building a few hundred meters away. Luckily the wind had not kicked up too terribly and she could still vaguely make out the spotlight on the top of her building to guide her back to it.

With the first pull she grunted and fell on her butt; amazed at the staggering weight of him. He didn't appear to be that heavy but apparently appearances were deceiving.

"You couldn't be light could you?" She muttered and stood again. She slowly dragged him towards the door until they finally got close enough that she could grab the handle and yank it open. Pulling him inside swiftly as humanly possible she ran back and slammed the door shut; locking it once it was closed.

"What the…" Her associate, Megan, called out as she stumbled in from the back room; her eyes foggy with sleep, "what is it now?" She muttered, yawning.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Rayne responded as she hauled the man to the ratty sofa at the far end of the room and hoisted him up on it until his pose somewhat resembled lying down.

"Jesus Christ Rayne! It's a person!" Megan called out loudly and rushed over them, her fatigue apparently gone, "and he's blue!" She laughed and hit Rayne on the arm as though she'd been planning this.

"I have no idea where he came from or why he's here. It sounded like a storm outside so I went to collect what data I could and bam! There he is…" she smacked her gloved hands together to emphasize her point before removing her goggles and jacket. Her gloves and hat were the last to come off, allowing her long brown hair to finally tumble free much to her relief. She walked over to the fridge and removed a bottle of water, ignoring Megan's swooning over their new guest.

"He just showed up? How's that possible? Holy shit look!" She screamed, making Rayne jump, "he's turning a normal color!" Rayne turned and rushed up behind Megan to watch the man slowly turn from a dark blue to a regular flesh tone. They slowly fell to their knees and took a seat on the floor directly in front of their new lodger and stared at him, baffled.

"Where do you think he came from?" Megan muttered.

"I have no idea." Rayne whispered incredulously.

"Why was he blue?" Rayne shrugged.

"We can ask when he gets up. He was acting perfectly fine… well fine-ish then he suddenly blacked out." Rayne explained.

"This is so weird." Megan mused. They sat there silently staring at him for what felt like hours and Rayne took that time to take in his regular, non-blue, appearance and she had to admit he was fairly stunning. His hair was long and raven black, his lips looked soft and his hands were large and calloused. He was wearing some type of strange, otherworldly clothing that, if she didn't know better, looked like it belonged to someone royal.

"What if he's dead?" Megan asked, making Rayne jump in surprise.

"He's not dead." She scoffed.

"Well how would you know? For all we know he's some sort of alien that might not breathe." Rayne couldn't discount the possibility so for shits and giggles she raised herself up onto her knees and leaned over, placing her hands gently on his chest and her ear over his lips, hoping to hear something. His chest rose and fell gently and his breath was hot against her ear, making her sigh in relief that he wasn't dead. Turning her head minimally she looked at his face closely and paused.

"You look familiar…" she muttered. His eyes shot open suddenly and Rayne gasped, yanking herself back only to be grabbed by the arms and held in place directly before him. His eyes were alight with something one could only call anger.

"Shit…" She muttered as they stared at each other.

"Where am I?!" he shouted. She flinched at the harshness of his tone while Megan stood and ran to the back rooms screaming, "He's vengeful! He's vengeful!" Which Rayne would have laughed at if not for the sudden fear for her life.

"What do you mean?" she muttered. His grip tightened in frustration and he pushed her back so he could stand, towering above her.

"Where am I mortal?" he demanded loudly.

"Antarctica!" she cried out.

"What? Where is this Antarctica?" he seemed genuinely confused which made her wonder.

"Earth?" she supplied, hoping it was the information he was seeking.

"So it appears he was not lying." The man looked off as though deep in thought. Rayne heard Megan pounding on the doors of the other people living in the cabin shouting something like, "the blue man is pissed!"

"Who are you?" he demanded suddenly, his attention refocused on her. She grimaced and looked down at the floor; avoiding his fiery gaze at all cost.

"Who are _you_?!" she countered angrily, fed up with his outburst. His grip tightened savagely to the point she knew she'd have bruises, "you're fucking hurting me!" she shouted and looked back at him. His face suddenly contorted in agony and he released her, letting her fall to the floor while he gripped his arm and cried out loud enough to shake the walls. She covered her ears and stared at him, watching the way he pried and pulled at the gold band covering his right arm entirely.

"Calm down!" She shouted as he fell to his feet in agony, his shouting ceased but he continued to growl in what she assumed was pain, "what's happening?" she asked, touching his arm gently to which he recoiled viciously.

"It… burns…" he hissed.

"Well… um… what should I do?" she offered, looking around as though the answer was somewhere in the room.

"I have no fucking clue you twit." He snarled then growled louder as the metal band began to grow brightly.

"There's no need to be mean about it! I'm trying to help you!" she countered viciously making him look up at her in surprise. Loki thought about what Thor had told him about the band, about why he was putting it on him. He suddenly remembered being told that when brings harm to those around him he would find out exactly what the band did.

"Did I bruise you?" he demanded suddenly. Rayne cocked her head in confusion and stared at him like he'd lost his mind.

"What?"

"Did I hurt you?" he ground out, the agony intensifying with every second they wasted.

"A little." She lifted the sleeve of her shirt and looked down at her upper arm that was turning an angry shade of red.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered unwillingly. The burning sensation immediately ceased and his arm was left tingling and numb. He stared down at the band incredulously, angrily; he couldn't believe he would be subjected to this heinous torture every time he lashed out at someone.

"It's fine, you're confused and probably scared." Rayne explained away his reaction as though it were completely understandable. Loki looked up at her in surprise at her immediate forgiveness; he would have figured she would yell at him and force him to leave immediately.

"Confused yes." He offered.

"Well let me explain then you can explain your situation," she sat down on the floor beside him and leaned against the sofa much to his amazement, "I'm Dr. Rayne Thornton and this is our research outpost. Me and three other people are working to develop a material that can withstand drastically cold temperatures, at least that's the bare bones of my situation. Your turn."

"My turn for what?" he asked.

"Where are you from? How'd you show up out there? Why were you blue?" she asked. He simply stared at her in shock at her genuine interest in him.

"I'm from Asgard, I was sent here by my brother and I am blue because I am actually a frost giant." Her eyebrows scrunched and she watched him cautiously; unsure of what to make of this bizarre tale.

"What's your name?" she whispered, leaning in closely.

"Loki Laufeyson." He felt a strange sense of despair whenever he uttered his true surname.

"Well nice to meet you Loki," she smiled widely at him, "now to more interesting information before my colleagues come out due to Megan howling like a banshee…" she leaned in closer and smiled more widely at him, "pray tell why you said 'you're gorgeous for a human'."

"Perhaps I spoke out of turn but if we're being completely honest," he leaned in closely as well until their noses were practically touching, "you are rather stunning for a human but also stupid at the same time."

"You certainly know how to treat a lady." She scoffed. His hand darted out and grabbed her forearm hard enough to pull her in closely as she pulled away.

"Meaning… if you were smart you would be a lot more scared than you are right now."

"Of what?" she muttered.

"Me."

**Let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated more than you know! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**:)**

"You? Why should I fear you?" Rayne muttered. Loki slowly turned his head to glare at her, his green eyes sparking venomously at her lack of belief. He longed for his powers, craved the possibility of showing her what he was really capable of; so desirous to make her fear him like she should.

"You doubt me?" he responded incredulously, offering her this one chance at redemption. She simply pulled away from him and went to sit on the chair nearby, releasing a bellow of laughter as thought this were a joke.

"You show up out of the blue, no pun intended, and pass out," she could barely contain the giggles pouring from her, "then you wake up and suddenly you're Mister threatening… well from what I've seen you aren't all that scary." She continued to giggle making Loki lose his temper in a flash of fury. He launched himself from his seat on the floor and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her from the seat she'd relocated to slamming her down onto the ground while one hand went to her hip to secure her there. She gasped from the impact and stared up at him in shock, her eyes wide.

"You think this some game mortal?!" Loki shouted violently, his hand slowly creeping from her hip up her chest to wrap around her throat. He felt the stirring of the arm bands signaling the soon to come onslaught of searing agony but he ignored it, determined to show her the gravity of whom she was dealing with. Her eyes were glazed with fear as he pressed her into the hardwood floor, "I don't think you fully understand what you are dealing with." He whispered dangerously. His hand tightened around her throat and not a second later the gold bands flared to life, stinging him viciously.

"I am not someone to be toyed with." He ground out through clenched teeth, the pain becoming overwhelming but he refused to let up. It had felt like an eternity since he'd caused anyone fear, felt the wispy thread of human life beneath his fingers so easily extinguishable. All it would take is a simple twisting of his hand and she would be dead before her primitive brain could even process the concept… the sheer glory of it made him weak with lust.

His fingers continued to tighten and the bands continued to sear him; he could feel the oxygen failing to slide down her throat to her lungs, could feel the life ebbing away slowly. How magnificent it would be to kill her intimately, gradually… while she was still conscious and able to understand what was happening to her. Sure he could do it quickly and be on his merry way but the allure of extinguishing her life while he was pressed against her was nearly too much to bear; it was his favorite way of killing after all, when he could see and feel their life force exiting their bodies. Especially hers being so much smaller, so feminine and warm…

But that thought alone gave him pause. While his lust for death was great the strangest sensations were overcoming him at being so close with a woman. It had been years in Asgard that he had been alone and when he was accompanied it was usually whilst being tortured and this woman wasn't here to mock him or maim him; she was simply here by coincidence.

'How wonderful she must feel.' He thought to himself, his mind suddenly awash with images not of killing her but of her moaning beneath him; of her screaming his name… of her submitting as no one had done for years. His hand loosened just enough so she could suck in a lungful of air as he stared down at her, picturing her taking him into her mouth, her begging him, him gagging her…

He slammed his hands down on the hardwood floor on either side of her head and launched himself upwards when the stirrings of arousal had begun to flood him; the last thing he needed was to show weakness to the first mortal he encountered.

Rayne lay on the ground gasping and heaving from the lack of oxygen as Loki took long strides towards the thick metal door, his face a mask of confusion and fury.

"Loki wait!" Rayne called out hoarsely, reaching forward towards his retreating form.

"For what?" he snapped and turned back towards her, the bands still searing his arms, "I have been exiled to this deplorable planet with no others like me in sight and I get stuck with you! A small, insignificant, unintelligent ape!" he shouted violently towards her. Rayne slowly pushed herself onto her knees and eventually onto her feet, her eyes never leaving his. She tried to take into account how she would feel if she was somewhere foreign to her, as this place was obviously unknown to him, without anyone she knew or loved to keep her company.

"You can think me an idiot all you want Loki," she told him so hoarsely it was barely audible, "but I'm all you have and this is a bad bridge to burn." His face fell slightly at the realization that she was right; if he lost her he didn't have anything except a hysteric intern who was still running around trying to rouse the other inhabitants of this miniscule cabin.

"You trust so easily." He muttered.

"I tend to trust fully until it is betrayed and you're not scoring many points thus far." She croaked and rubbed her throat gently. Loki stood there staring at her cautiously, unsure of how to proceed; it had been years since anyone trusted him fully. Everyday Frigga would visit but her eyes were filled with fear, Odin would express plainly how his actions had essentially ruined the whole of the universe and Thor was the worst… He would approach Loki's cell and act as though nothing were wrong, as though Loki were still free and they were discussing the weather when it was obvious, the mistrust in his eyes as though he were toying with a venomous snake about to strike.

Which, in essence, they all were.

"How do you fare?" he asked, his eyes dropping to her neck where his handy work was becoming more and more noticeable. In any other situation he would either be proud of what he'd done or he'd be turned on like crazy but this felt different; the stirrings of those feelings were present along with… guilt?

"What?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Your neck… are you alright?" he slowly reached forward hoping to touch her skin and heal the bruising when he remembered he was unable to use his magic. He sighed and almost dropped his hand before second guessing himself and allowing his fingers to reach forward and gently press against the exposed skin of her collarbone just below the bruising and just above her thick thermal shirt. It took everything he had within him not to groan at the exquisiteness of her skin, at the spark of human contact he'd nearly forgotten about. He scarcely remembered it ever feeling this incredible just to touch someone.

"I'm fine." She muttered, looking down at his fingertips that were barely touching her. In another time and place she'd think he was insane for looking so joyful at simply touching her but for some odd reason it felt good to make him look at her like that; to satisfy him in this small way. Slowly he took one step forward and pressed his entire palm against her chest directly over her sternum, his fingertips still rooted in the same place. Even she was unable to deny the huge spark that rocketed through her at the feel of his skin against hers.

"Forgive me for hurting you." He muttered and looked down at her, clearly uncomfortable asking for forgiveness.

"You're scared and you lashed out, I understand… just avoid trying to kill me again." She laughed despite the heaviness of the situation and stood there watching his face, watching him revel in the sensations when a sudden, vicious jolt of electricity ricocheted through him and into her making her fall back and him fall on top of her, unconscious.

"What the?" Rayne muttered, rubbing her suddenly aching head. Megan stood directly behind where they were previously standing with a live Taser glowing in her hand, "what the fuck did you do?" she shouted.

"He was freaking me out and he nearly killed you!" Megan responded hysterically, "the others didn't believe me so I decided to take matters into my own hands!"

"Well thank you very fucking much because he is now knocked out on top of me and he's extremely fucking heavy!" she grunted and shoved at his shoulders, eventually Megan gave up her stubborn disposition and helped Rayne to lift Loki off her and onto the sofa where he was once again positioned uncomfortably.

"Better hope he's not dead for real this time." Megan muttered and walked off to her bedroom where she promptly slammed the door, making Rayne roll her eyes. She gently took a seat next to the sleeping man and contemplated their strange situation; they'd known each other for all of a few hours and already he'd attacked her twice and made her want to kiss him more often than that.

"He could be some psycho for all you know and you're sitting here deciding whether or not to kiss him!" she muttered angrily to herself as she stared down at his lips that looked so gentle and completely kissable, "he is in fact a psycho, he's already tried to kill you twice," She continued on to no one but herself as she slowly began to lean down, inching closer and closer to his relaxed face, "what if he's some lunatic that's hell bent on killing everyone you know and love?" she asked herself once she was a single inch away from his lips. Her body felt nearly electric with the excitement blazing through her at the possibility of kissing someone so off limits it wasn't even funny; it felt like she was betraying someone almost.

"It would be worth it even then." She told herself finally before closing the gap and pressing her urgent lips against his.

**Let me know what you think, a bit of a filler chapter but more to come. ****XOXO**

**- Gabby**


	4. Chapter 4

It felt like an abyss of blackness and stinging electricity; but the predominant sensation he was feeling was something akin to kissing, making him wonder just what the hell was going on in the conscious world.

Loki jerked awake suddenly and tried to take in a large gulp of air only to be obstructed by the deplorable mortal woman's lips being pressed against his. Her eyes were wide as she stood there, face pressed against his unable to move from the shock of him awakening. Loki was just as surprised at her actions and unsure if he should shove her away or kiss her back like he really wanted to. Sure she was human and therefore lesser than he but still she smelled like heaven and tasted even sweeter from what he could surmise from this minute connection she'd forced upon him.

Going with his gut instinct he swung his arm up and latched on to her shoulders, yanking her down until her feet fell out from under her and she landed on top of him with an 'oomph!' His other arm came up so he could bury his hand in her hair and hold her face against his, his mouth opening up and his tongue darting out seeking entrance. She was clearly panicking as was evident from the mewling and screeching sounds coming from her closed lips. Loki simply smiled and pressed his tongue against the tight seam of her lips harder until she yielded and allowed him access much to his amusement. He quickly dove in and began moving his lips against hers while his tongue bombarded hers with an overwhelming sense of urgency; he felt the burgeoning stirrings of lust flood his nerves and all he could think of was ripping her clothes off and laying into her properly but when he looked at her he second guessed himself. It felt like the natural thing to do but somehow she didn't seem like she'd be up for it yet and for whatever reason he didn't feel like tricking her into he; he wanted her to want it.

Suddenly shocked with himself he pulled away from her and scoffed. Her eyes were closed and she was moaning slightly even after he had disengaged the kiss, her body was pressed closely against his, her heat filling him until he ached to take her. Quickly he shoved her away and sat up onto his knees so she fell off him and onto the sofa across from him. He groaned loudly at the image of her laying there before him; her lips swollen from the kissing and her eyes glazed over with lust.

"What the hell just happened?" he demanded suddenly, desperately trying to ward off the things he was feeling.

Rayne felt her brain snap out of its stupor and laid there staring up at him like she was overwhelmingly ashamed of what had just transpired. She quickly righted herself and looked away as quickly as possible as he sat down on the couch and laid his head in his hands.

"I'm not entirely certain." She muttered, embarrassed.

"I need to get out of here." He declared suddenly and stood, quickly making his way towards the door. Rayne stood and ran after him, grabbing his arm just as he reached for the handle. His head snapped back and looked at her hand before looking up and glaring venomously at her.

"You can't go, there's a storm coming in and you'll freeze to death out there," she practically begged him, yanking him away from the metal door, "just stay here until it passes and we'll call for transport to come in from the mainland and take you to wherever you need to go."

"Why do you care?" he spat at her making her flinch. Rayne pondered that question for just a moment; why did she care? He'd been nothing but mean to her so when he threatened to go outside and become an alien Popsicle why should she stop him?

"I just do okay? Just stay here a few days and then you can leave… please Loki." She flat out begged him and he looked all too pleased with the image it created. He knew he would be fine out in that weather but something dark in the pit of his stomach was telling him it would be best to stay. Never mind the intense feelings he was beginning to harbor towards the tiny human practically begging at his feet; there was something much more ominous steering him away from leaving.

"And if I stay? Will I be tasered again? Will everyone demand answers of me?" he questioned. She looked hesitant to answer but conceded to simply shaking her head.

"No one needs to know anything, as far as they're concerned you're just a visitor from our boss here to help us with our research," she fabricated as she went, "and Megan will stay far away from you for the rest of your time here okay?"

"And what of you?" he stepped towards her slightly and away from the door. Rayne released his arm and hugged herself, unsure of what he was implying.

"What do you mean?" she muttered.

"Are you going to act like you weren't kissing me?" he smiled wickedly at her making her knees weak at the sight of his bright white teeth glaring at her.

"I think it's best if we just coexist until you leave; I'll leave you alone and carry on with my work." She shrugged him off almost laughably.

"We can try that." He goaded her.

"There will be no 'trying' of anything, it's what we will do." She told him sternly, more convincing herself than him. He was just about to hotly retort to what she said when her troop of co-workers came out from their rooms and down the hallway to the tiny living space she was arguing with Loki in. They both froze and stared over at the sleepy eyed group of three plus Megan who looked terrified and furious at the same time.

"Hey guys!" Rayne announced and grabbed Loki's arm tightly, hauling him against her, "this is Greg and he's been sent by Tony to help us with our research." Loki leaned down and muttered in her ear; "Greg?"

"WHAT?!" Megan screeched. Rayne immediately released Loki and sprinted over to Megan whom she grabbed by the hand and walked towards the hallway quickly before she could announce anything potentially detrimental to the façade she was creating.

"You say one thing and you're fired." Rayne muttered darkly to Megan who was seething with fury.

"He's a goddamned alien Rayne! They should know!" she whispered.

"I realize that but he's stuck with us until the storm passes and the last thing I need is for everyone to be freaking out or alienating him; just let them think he's a normal person then he'll be gone." She explained calmly.

"What normal person dresses like that?!" Megan pointed down the hallway to where Loki stood in his unearthly garb.

"Leave the details to me Megan just go along with it," she commanded fiercely, "alright?" she stood there watching Megan weigh the pros and cons in her mind until finally she nodded.

"And no more tasing, that wasn't cool at all." Rayne added before leading her back down the hallway to join the group of people who were talking with Loki as though he were any old human. Loki looked incredibly uncomfortable but she had to admit he was playing the part very well much to her surprise.

"Sorry about that, Greg scared Megan earlier so she was a little shocked to hear he is a fellow scientist." Megan shot her a look of disdain but ended up nodding. Rayne sighed in relief and walked over to the group of people surrounding Loki and stood by him hoping no one would raise any suspicions.

"Those are some funny looking clothes you got on there." Dr. Rupert, her fellow physicist, commented offhandedly.

"Yes well these clothes as you so rudely defined them…" Loki began but Rayne cut him off quickly.

"Were for an event he was a part of back on the mainland. He didn't have any time to change before he was brought here," She explained away, hoping they would buy it, "in fact I'm sure there are some clothes in my closet that would fit you just fine."

"I somehow doubt that." Loki muttered. Rayne rolled her eyes at his snarky attitude and grabbed his arm, hauling him towards the hallway to her room. As soon as they were in her room she closed the door and locked it so they could talk privately with no interruptions.

"I think they bought it." She whispered. Slowly she turned around from the door to find him standing not six inches from her, his overwhelming minty scent enveloping her.

"I knew you couldn't stay away." He commented hotly in her ear making her shiver.

"Come on." She groaned and shook off the unwanted sensations he was creating within her. She stepped around him quickly and went to her closet that was filled to the brim with a plethora of assorted clothing items, half of which belonged to her coworkers who couldn't fit the items in their closets.

"Here." She yanked out a shirt and pants combo that she figured he would like. He simply stood there staring at her with an arched eyebrow as though she had told him to strip naked.

"This only gets more and more horrifying as we go along." He muttered angrily.

"Well if you want to coexist with them without any questions then I suggest you put this on and stop your bitching," She smiled sweetly at his dumbfounded expression, "I take it not many people talk to you like that where you're from."

He closed his mouth and yanked the clothes from her hand. The expression on his face was one of pain which made Rayne wonder just what the hell his deal was and why he was here. He sat the clothes on the chest at the end of her bed and slowly began unsnapping and peeling off the strange garments he had on, stone faced the entire time. Rayne was just about to turn around and give him some privacy when he finally spoke up.

"I'm a prince actually," he muttered mournfully as though it pained him to be one of nobility, "the rightful king of my realm."

"You say that with such sadness… what happened?" she tried to gently pry information from him, hoping he wouldn't notice her attempts. He finally undid the last of the top layer of clothing and let it fall to the floor revealing a tight fitting long sleeved black undergarment which he pulled over his head immediately so his top half was entirely exposed. Rayne held her breath at the smooth expanse of his pale skin smattered with a light sprinkling of hair starting between his pectorals and running down over his lean stomach to disappear below his low hanging pants. He smiled knowingly before turning around to grab the shirt he had laid down and Rayne stifled a gasp of horror; his back was crisscrossed top to bottom with long, thick scars that looked like the product of whips and knives. Every single inch of his beautiful skin was marred with the markings making Rayne's curiosity near desperate.

"I was cast out from my home for crimes I committed." He confessed much to her surprise, turning back around so his mutilated back was no longer visible. Rayne did her best to shake the image form her memory but it stuck; it's only competition the image of her kneeling before him running her tongue along the line where his pants met his skin, of her teeth nipping him ever so gently. This image was like a jackhammer to her brain; strong, loud and insistent almost as though it weren't hers but someone else's imagery they were forcing upon her.

"What crimes?" she asked. He pulled the shirt over his head and stared at her once it was in place.

"You of all species should know; don't play stupid." He snarled at her viciously almost as though it was her fault he was here.

"Well I don't know but my curiosity is killing me." She implored.

"There is no need for us to go in to details. As of right now I am completely powerless thanks to these things," he looked down at the gold bands covering his arms, "so you all are safe."

"We wouldn't be safe if you didn't have those on?" Rayne blurted out unwillingly, not really wanting the honest answer to that. Loki seemed to ponder this as he quickly undid his pants and dropped them before Rayne could turn around. She stood there staring open mouthed at his naked form much to his amusement. He reached back and grabbed the insufferable mortal pants and unwillingly pulled them up his legs.

"I'm sure my shoes will be of no issue to your delicate mortal sensibilities." Rayne looked down at the boots he wore and shook her head.

"They should be fine. You know you seem to be really comfortable flaunting your… you know… around." Rayne made some ridiculous motion with her hand before blushing and looking down.

"My what?" he asked, knowing full well what she meant but wanting her to say it.

"Your… thing." She muttered. Slowly he sauntered closer to her, his scent growing ever more overwhelming every step he took until he was inches from her staring down at her near giggling self.

"My cock?" he supplied hotly. Rayne's head snapped up and her mouth fell open in shock at his declaration.

"You know that's what I meant!" she gasped and threw her hands up in the air.

"Why should I not be proud? I have heard it is a glorious…"

"Stop it right there! Oh my god you are unbelievable!" she laughed and walked around his quickly towards the doorway. Loki felt a tightening in his chest at the image of her laughing as though he enjoyed making it happen.

"Care for a demonstration?" he called out.

"Don't you wish?" she asked sarcastically and opened the door, "I'm going to get back to work, come join me when you're done singing your genital praises." She laughed and walked out the doorway leaving him to stand there shocked at how she doubted his prowess.

"I don't wish Rayne," he muttered and stalked out the door after her, "I plan."


	5. Chapter 5

**Asgard **

"Do you think this wise mother? Sending him into this volatile situation?" Thor sat regally on the throne staring down at Frigga who was seeming less and less convinced that this was the wise course of action but she stuck to her original claim.

"This is the only way son… you know your brother as well as I do; nothing else will help him. This will either completely rehabilitate him or completely break him and if it does not work then…" Frigga trailed off ominously, unable to utter the undoubtable fate that would befall Loki if he were to crack under the pressure.

"Then he must die." Odin chimed in from Thor's other side. They'd been playing angel and devil for the past few hours to their son who sat there confused as to how to proceed; on one hand he would be able to summon enough power to remove Loki from this potentially hazardous situation but on the other hand it was probably best to hold tight and see how he reacted when push came to shove.

And humans were particularly talented at shoving.

"Recall to me again this vision you beheld." Thor prompted Frigga who sighed and sat down on the smaller chair beside her son.

"He has been sent to a frozen wasteland much like Jotunheim. He has been approached and befriended by a kindhearted human woman and her friends; this woman will be his salvation if he allows her entrance past the barriers surrounding his heart," Frigga foretold quietly, "but his redemption shall not be in vain; everything comes with a price and this one is steep."

"And that is where it ends? No more detail of the trial he will endure?" Thor strived for every ounce of information he could extract from her.

"All I see is death; black, angry, bloody death but not at his hand, at the hand of another. I see the human woman suffering and your brother is the only one who can stop it." Thor rubbed his forehead in frustration and stared down at his clenched fist.

"Well I hope for the human's sake Loki is willing to fulfill his duties." He muttered hopelessly.

##

** 5 hours later**

"So you see? It plays music!" Dawson, the resident mechanic, declared excitedly to Loki who stood there staring down at the tiny metal box in his hand that would blurt out the most atrocious sounds when prompted.

"If you can call that music." He muttered.

"It's music here," Rayne declared from the lab table across the brightly lit room strewn with various machines and test samples of the materials they were creating, "you're actually going to be quite an asset to us," She called out making her way through the messy room over to where they sat staring down at the IPod, "your resilience to the freezing temperatures outside will make it far easier to test these materials out. Put this on." She commanded and grabbed his hand, yanking it forward so she could thrust a tight fitting metal glove onto it.

"It is too tight." Loki muttered, picking at the constricting material.

"Well your hands are large so I'll start making the samples bigger," She told him and took him by the hand, which pleased him a whole lot more than it should have, leading him out of the room towards the front door, "we'll know if it doesn't work based on whether or not you turn blue underneath it." She beamed at him, all too excited at the prospect of being able to safely test her work on someone.

"This hardly seems scientific." He muttered as she began donning her thermal apparel.

"What other options do I have? I can't very well send them out and risk injuring them," she nodded over to the giddy team giving them a thumbs up from the entryway of the lab, "you're the next best thing I've got." She beamed up at him amid a mass of fabric and padding. Yanking her gloves on she positioned her goggles and opened the door against the 50 mile and hour winds that were holding it tightly shut. Loki eventually sighed at her futile attempts to open it more than a few inches and placed his hand against its cold surface, shoving it open easily. Rayne huffed and looked back at him before leading him outside and closing the door easily behind them.

"Okay now just stand there." she told him and pulled a small notepad, pen and binging machine from her pocket all of which she struggled to hold in light of the fiercely blowing winds.

"Now what?" he called out after she'd been staring down at her machine for a few seconds.

"Now…" she looked around, "stick your hand in that." She declared excitedly and pointed towards an embankment of snow that had built up against the side of the building.

"You jest." He implored.

"You'll be fine just do it." He stood there staring at her with arched eyebrows before sighing and walking over to the snowdrift. She followed him closely with the machine inches from his covered hand, clearly excited as was evident from the sounds of pure joy coming from underneath her hood.

"Is this what I shall be subject to during my tenure?" he asked her much to her frustration.

"Loki!" she whined, excited to see what happened when he buried his hand in the icy snow.

"You really are annoying." He muttered before shoving his hand deep within the pure white fluff. She jumped up and down happily as he stood there, feeling his exposed skin begin to sting from the cold. He looked down at his other uncovered hand and sure enough it was turning a dark shade of blue.

"Okay let's go back inside; your indigo is showing," She laughed and headed back to the door which Loki had to open for her. Once inside she ran to the wobbly kitchen table and threw her stuff down, only removing the top layer of her clothing and goggles so she could see. She scrawled a few offhanded notes into the paper before turning and looking at him expectantly, "come here!" she smiled widely. Loki couldn't help but smile back at her excitement and walk over to where she sat, arms outstretched. Once he was a few inches from her she grabbed his hand and began working at removing the tight material only to reveal his skin was the same shade of blue underneath as it was everywhere else.

"Well shit…" she muttered dejectedly. Loki felt somewhat bad that her experiment hadn't gone the way she planned but let her wallow without saying anything.

"Well this is only the first sample." She comforted herself and did something that made Loki's breath stop. She lifted his exposed hand that was now turning back to a normal flesh tone and pressed it against her warming cheek. Loki sat stock still staring at her, unable to believe what she was doing.

"How do you feel?" she asked him, "you're ice cold…" she muttered, looking up at him in a way that made his desires almost too much to bear. Almost unwillingly his thumb extended upwards and stroked down against her skin in a gesture of… care?

"I am well." He told her gently, wondering just where this kindness was coming from. He lifted his other hand slowly and pressed it against her other cheek, his thumb stroking her cheek in the same manner. He stared down at her windblown face in awe; her cheeks were reddened from the wind, her lips full and red from her nervous biting… she looked utterly fuckable, he thought to himself. Slowly he leaned down towards her, his lips tingling in expectancy, her breath coming in short, hurried gasps.

"I won't force you to do it again, I just got excited. It turning blue hurts you then we can call it off." She muttered. He continued his journey forward towards her lips but carried on the conversation as though he weren't about to kiss her.

"It doesn't." he mentally scolded himself for what he was a few inches from doing; his desire to enslave the human race hadn't waned in the slightest but here he was lusting over your classic uncertain, fumbling, ridiculous homo sapiens… but her innocence and insecurity made her all that much more appealing to him.

"You'll tell me if it does right?" she breathed out, her eyelids falling and her lips relaxing in expectation. A firestorm of lust was raging out of control within him at the awe inspiring sight of her sitting there awaiting his touch. He slowly moved his right hand form her cheek around to the back of her skull, his fingers diving into her hair to hold her perfectly still as they drifted closer and closer; the desire nearly tangible between them. He could feel her aching for him like sparks along her skin, zapping him in their intensity.

"As will you?" he muttered, going out on a limb.

"Tell you what?" she almost moaned.

"If I hurt you." He growled out and went in for the kill. The moment their lips touched in a flurry of longing the door to the lab flew open and slammed against the wall making Loki jerk back and release her.

"Not much research happening out here I see." Megan commented scathingly, walking to the pantry she grabbed a bag of chips and walked back towards the lab, her gaze never leaving theirs. They both exhaled a sigh of relief once the door closed and they were alone once more. Rayne sat there staring at him incredulously while Loki stared at her with near tangible heat.

"Is this how it's going to be the entire time you're here?" Rayne breathed out.

"It's beginning to appear that way." He retorted.

"How am I going to be able to work under these conditions?" she asked rhetorically. Loki shot her an, 'oh please' look.

"One of us is going to crack sooner or later." He muttered.

"I'm betting on you," She smiled widely at him and stood, taking off the rest of her unnecessary layers and hanging them on the back of the chair, "it's getting near nighttime so I guess we ought to figure out where you're going to sleep, we can do more research tomorrow."

"It would indeed be prudent." He ignored her scathing wager and set their attentions to more respectable topics.

"Well every room is accounted for. Megan's room is a definite no, Dr. Rupert has only one bed, Dawson has a cot and I have a bunk bed…" her eyes widened at the though and she quickly shook her head, "there is no way in hell it's coming to this… every goddamn facet of this situation is just too much…" she muttered.

"What are you going on about?" he demanded.

"You and I are going to have to share a room until you leave. You can't very well sleep on the sofa and I don't think your princely sensibilities could handle it either." Loki's eyes widened incrementally right before he released a deep bellow of laughter making Rayne jump in surprise.

"You are going to crack so easily mortal." He commented off handedly before walking around her to her bedroom door which he opened as though he owned the place. He turned his head and shot her a look of pure amusement before entering her room and closing the door behind him.

**As always let me know what you think :) XOXO**


	6. Chapter 6

"Just don't think about it… just don't think about it…" Rayne thought to herself as she stood in the bathroom staring at herself in the mirror, the toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

"He's just another co-worker. You wouldn't find it weird if Dawson needed to share a room with you so why is this any different?" she asked herself once the residual toothpaste had been spat out into the rusty old sink. Dropping her toothbrush into the glass cup on the counter she ran her hands through her long brown hair she'd been meaning to shear off for years but had never gotten around to doing.

"But it's _not_ like any other person!" she ground out, "you've known the man for all of one day and you've turned into a complete tart for him!" she laughed out just as a knock sounded on the door.

"You alright in there?" Loki called out from the other side.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered and groaned, turning she walked towards the door and ripped it open to reveal the aforementioned alien standing there in a pair of long black pajama pants he must have found in her dresser… and that was all. Rayne had to physically stop herself from gaping at the image he presented her with; it wasn't like she hadn't seen it when he'd changed in front of her earlier… it was just a whole lot closer and more enticing, that combined with his arm resting on the doorframe giving him a relaxed demeanor made it all too tempting to jump into his arms and be carried by him back to the bedroom.

"Rayne?" she vaguely heard him call out, her gaze travelling from the dusting of hairs on his muscled stomach which lead down below the pants which rode dangerously low on his slim hips up to his face where she saw him smiling.

"Yes?" she muttered. He must have brushed his hair or something because it no longer had that spiked in the back look instead it hung down around his face in gentle waves.

"You're staring." He muttered.

"No I'm not!" she scoffed and shook her head, trying more to convince herself than him.

"I distracted you." He smiled evilly down at her.

"Don't flatter yourself." She ground out in frustration. She jumped slightly when his arm moved from the doorframe and reached down towards her leg, his fingers touching her upper thigh and moving in light, teasing circles.

"Oh but I think I did," he muttered, stepping in closer so they were inches apart, his hot minty breath fanning her face, "you're not wearing any pants." Rayne felt her heart stop and she simply stared mortified at his stunning face.

"Shit…" she muttered and backed away from him quickly, going to stand behind the door so he couldn't see. Loki just stood there laughing at her typical human response.

"Go back to the room!" she shouted at him and yanked the hand towel from the bar on the wall where it had been hanging.

"There is no way that thing is going to wrap around you sufficiently enough to cover… everything." He smiled wickedly at her.

"Oh so now I'm fat too? You're just winning points left and right." She scoffed at him angrily and nodded her head for him to go back to the room and leave her to think of a better way to cover herself.

"I never once said a thing about you being obese; you are shaped like a woman," he stepped forward slowly, "or at least what all women _should_ be shaped like. You are more than skin and bones, those break too easily… yours is the body that could take what I have to offer." He finished as he stood mere inches from her once again. Rayne felt her heart beating out of control in her chest, her face was flush and her palms were slick with perspiration; her mind was awash with images of him pinning her to the wall and fucking her until they were both too weak to stand, but more predominant was the image of him tying her tightly to the bed with her blindfolded and gagged while he did as he pleased with her.

'What the hell?' she thought to herself, shaking the images out of her head.

"Go back to the room, go!" she shooed him away, swinging the door so it gently tapped him.

"You came this close to cracking mortal, I can see it in your eyes." he smiled and spaced his index finger and thumb about in inch apart to further emphasize his point.

"Whatever Loki." She rolled her eyes at him and finally shoved the door against him until it was able to close with him on the other side. She sighed and rested her head against its cool wood surface, listening to him laugh on the other side.

"You'll be mine Rayne," he told her, clearly still amused at her reaction, "it is only a matter of time."

The worst part was she had no doubt what he said was the truth.

##

After finally deciding to bite the bullet and rush into the room sans pants, wherever she'd left the ones she had on was a mystery to her, Rayne yanked the door open and bolted into the bedroom where Loki was casually lying on the bottom bunk where she normally slept.

"What are you doing?" she all but shouted at him as she yanked a pair of sweatpants out of her dresser drawer. Loki was still without a shirt in and, in all his ethereal godly glory, was also lacking pants and underwear; the only thing making him slightly decent was a bed sheet barely covering him.

"I am merely trying to sleep."

"Well get to the top bunk! The bottom one is mine." She demanded curtly to which he smiled and sat up, moving the sheet until he was nearly exposed. Rayne felt angry with herself at the fact that her mouth was watering at the prospect that the sheet might move a few centimeters and she would be able to see him once more.

"So human…" he muttered and stood, letting the sheet drop so he was entirely exposed. Rayne spared him a single glance before turning and covering her eyes, embarrassment flooding her at how much she liked seeing him.

"Cover yourself." She told him.

"How prudish; are all you humans like this? Saving yourself for marriage?" he laughed and grabbed the railing on the side of the top bunk, vaulting himself up over it and landing on the thin mattress easily. Rayne turned back around once she was sure he was out of sight and walked over to the bottom bunk which now reeked of the scent of wintergreen and spearmint. Quickly she positioned herself under the covers and pulled them up to her chin to ward off the cold she was now feeling since the excitement of seeing him naked was wearing off slightly.

"Not that it's any of your business but I'm not saving myself for marriage and I resent you calling me a prude." She retorted after much seething.

"Good; I was worried I would ruin you." He told her in a surprisingly non joking tone of voice; almost as though that was a worry he harbored.

"Let's just get some sleep; we have more work to do tomorrow." She muttered.

##

**3 a.m.**

Rayne awoke with a start at the pounding coming from the common room. She laid there wide eyed hoping it was maybe the wind and it would go away but sure enough it came again; a clearly calculated knocking that could only be human. She looked over at her alarm clock which read the temperature inside as being 40 degrees. Sighing she grabbed the covers and stood, taking them with her she walked out the door towards the common room that was still undisturbed from how she left it before going to bed. She approached the door and opened the small window at the top to try and see what was outside but there was nothing except darkness and snow. She was just about to turn around and walk back when a louder, more insistent pounding came from the bottom of the door.

She jumped slightly and let the blankets fall, grabbing a thermal jacket she covered herself as best she could and pulled the door open. A black mass fell through the opening and slammed against the floor, half of it still outside the doorway in the blizzard. Rayne grabbed it by its back and began yanking it inside the building when her fingers slipped on something slick and she fell on the ground form the force of her own momentum. Hesitantly she looked down and saw fresh blood covering her fingers.

"Shit!" she screamed and looked down at the person who bore a long, thick gash down their back a few centimeters away from where she was holding them. Blood was pouring from the wound spanning from their neck down to their tailbone, little sections of their spine were exposed only proving that the person who did it did it in a hurry and unevenly.

"Oh my god! Fuck!" she screamed, unsure of what else to say until a second later when her instinct took over, "Loki!" she screamed and backed away from the growing puddle of blood on the ground. Frost was slowly growing on the floor and the person form the door being open so long. Loki came tearing out of the room at a breakneck pace, running up to Rayne he kneeled down beside her and took her face in his hands, moving it away from the scene before them.

"It's okay, just close your eyes." he whispered calmly and Rayne complied, breathing deeply and gagging at the thick metallic scent in the air. Suddenly Loki released her face and ran towards the person, yanking them inside fully and slamming the door shut. Rayne kept her eyes closed and gathered her legs towards her torso, wrapping her arms around them so she was huddled in a tight ball on the floor.

"What's going on out here?!" she heard Dawson call out from behind her followed by Dr. Rupert and Megan who began screaming.

"Just take care of it." Loki commanded darkly, walking over to Rayne and prying her arms from around her legs. Once she was dislodged he positioned one arm underneath her knees and the other one behind her shoulders, lifting her he quickly took her to the room and closed the door with his foot. He walked her over to the bottom bunk and laid her down before joining her and covering them both.

"What happened to that person?" she muttered shakily.

"I don't know but you're safe Rayne, trust me." Loki muttered and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close. She took a few deep breaths but was unable to shake and image of her blood soaked hands from her head.

"Someone butchered them Loki."

"Shhh…" he muttered as she began sobbing uncontrollably.

"It has to be a human there's no animals here that would do that…" she explained it away to herself while Loki held her hoping she would fall asleep soon so she wouldn't have to think about it anymore. He couldn't remember ever having experienced such rampant chaos erupting in such a short period of time when things had been so calm; sure he hadn't been able to sleep much with the knowledge that the most desirable human ever to have been created was sleeping peacefully a few feet below him but none-the-less everything was finally calming down in his head when Rayne just had to get up and play the good Samaritan.

"What if it's coming for us next?" she bumbled away in typical human fashion; overthinking and overanalyzing things.

"Rayne," he began, lifting himself up on to one elbow and turning her face with his free hand so she looked him squarely in the eye, "nothing is going to happen to you okay? While I'm here I won't let anything harm you."

"What if the thing to be feared isn't out there?" she nodded over to the window but remain peering at him thoughtfully, "what if _you _are what I should fear?"

**As always reviews are appreciated more than you can imagine! XOXO! -Gabby**


	7. Chapter 7

"We should call the authorities." Dawson exclaimed animatedly as they all sat around the tiny table contemplating what to do. Megan was staring off into space looking traumatized, Dr. Rupert looked like he hadn't slept a wink, Dawson was trying to take the lead and decide what they should do as a group, Rayne was staring down at her coffee still trying to shake the images from her mind while Loki stood directly behind her with his fingers inconspicuously stroking her back. He had been bothered tremendously by her final comment last night but he let it go because truth be told he was someone she should be scared of. For whatever reason she had no memory of what he'd tried to do over a year ago and for that he was grateful; it would have proven to be a challenge, getting her to trust him, had she known what he'd done.

"And then what?" Dr. Rupert piped up after a few moments of reflection, "wait three days for them to arrive while the body rots in our living room?" he demanded angrily, pointing over to the tarp covered corpse lying in the corner as far away from them as possible.

"That's why I'm saying we should throw it outside and let the snow cover it; besides if the cops show up they're going to think it was one of us!" he continued. They all sighed and looked at each other, hoping against all rational hope that one of them would come up with the perfect plan.

"So when the snow thaws they will find it and blame us even more?" Megan snapped at him.

"The snow never thaws here! We will go outside and dig down deep to the ice layer and bury it then recover it and let the snow build over it!"

"We have nothing to hide. Why are we making this so complicated?" Rayne chimed in calmly, hoping to ease tensions.

"Because there's a goddamn killer out there, it doesn't get much more complicated than that." Dawson sided with Dr. Rupert.

"It could have been an animal or something…" Megan muttered sheepishly, not too entirely sure of herself quite yet.

"What goddamn animal?!" Dawson shouted at her, seeming to have teamed up completely with Dr. Rupert, "you're the intern of a scientist so you should know that there are no motherfucking land animals in Antarctica!"

"Shut up Dawson! Just leave her alone, she's scared but at least she's providing constructive conversation not just lashing out at people!" Rayne stood and screamed at the wild eyed man looming over Megan who looked like she was about to break down even further.

"I think we should get away from each other for a little bit," she provided calmly, looking around at everyone including Loki who was gazing at them darkly, "to gain some perspective on the issue at hand."

"And go where? This cabin is barely 1000 square feet!" Dr. Rupert growled out. Rayne shot him a venomous look before approaching Megan and helping her to stand.

"Here's what we'll do; Dawson and Dr. Rupert go to the lab, Megan is going to go lay down and I am going to talk to Loki, deal?" she offered and watched them as they pondered the plan and ended up nodding in the end, each stomping off in their respective directions. Loki followed closely behind Rayne who was slowly helping Megan to her bedroom.

"What are we going to do Rayne?" Megan muttered, sounding as if she wasn't fully 'there.' Rayne helped her to lay down and covered her with the thick comforter, smoothing her hair back comfortingly.

"Don't you worry about it okay? Everything is going to be fine." She whispered.

"Rayne," Megan started back up again once Rayne had made it ten steps towards the door. Slowly she turned back and peered at the much younger girl warily.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Who is that man?" she retorted and Rayne didn't have to clarify who she was asking about.

"I don't know but I'll find out. Don't worry about him either." But deep down inside Rayne was truly terrified of who Loki could possibly be.

##

"What should we do?" Rayne asked Loki as she paced around the bedroom while he lay on the bed completely at ease. It felt like the weight of the entire world was upon her shoulders seeing as how she was going to have to be the one to make the reasonable decision.

"I'm not sure." He responded slowly after some time. Rayne stopped and scoffed at him, amazed at his lack of helpfulness.

"What would you do?"

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"I would find out who the killer is at all costs and slowly torture him or her to death; I would allow no mercy," He told her darkly and point blank, still staring at the ceiling, "especially if they threatened someone I cared about."

"Who are you?" she asked breathlessly, unable to fully process his solution it terrified her so much.

"You don't know? Honestly?" he sat up and stared at her incredulously.

"Why should I know?"

"If I told you you'd surely kick me out and then where would I be?" His temper was wearing thin at her prodding and it showed in his clipped tone.

"Well where will I be if you're the killer?" she muttered lowly, more word vomit than an actual accusation but it was as good as one to Loki who felt his temper flare up like a whip inside of him. Grinding his teeth he stood quickly and rushed her, making her recoil towards the wall until her back hit it almost painfully. His eyes were alight with barely contained rage and he used his full height to his advantage over her, allowing her to feel his fury.

He knew he had no right to be as angry about her saying that as he was but something about her suspecting him made him ache in a strange way; sort of like a betrayal and what better way did he express his hurt than by lashing out.

"Then I guess you better just kick me out then if you're so keen to accuse me of doing that." He snarled viciously.

"Just tell me who you are and what you're doing here Loki, whatever it is I can accept it and move on but if you keep yourself in the dark from me then I automatically assume the worst." She begged him breathlessly.

"How sickeningly human of you," he growled, "You should really stop asking questions you don't want the answer to. I'm not a threat to any of you useless humans so you can just cross my name off the suspect list and that is final."

"Loki…" she muttered, about to continue forth with her prodding when the patch phone beside her bed began singing its incoming call tune of 'Suicide Is Painless.' Quickly Rayne rushed around Loki and ran to the phone, lifting off the hook she pulled out a pen and paper just in case the call was important.

"Independence Initiative Alpha Five speaking." She prompted the

"Dr. Rayne?" the caller on the other end responded.

"Speaking."

"This is Dr. Mathias from the New Zealand S.H.E.I.L.D station just calling to give you a heads up on the cyclone heading your way."

"Why is S.H.E.I.L.D calling you?" Loki demanded angrily much to Rayne's chagrin. She quickly hit the mute button and shot him a look like she couldn't believe he just had an outburst like that.

"It's just an update, how the hell do you know about them anyway?" Every detail he allowed her about him only made her more and more wary about whom he could possibly be.

"Forget it." He snarled and sat down on the bed.

"Continue Doctor." She prompted once he was unmuted.

"It's gonna be a doozy. We are unsure of just how bad it'll be but we think it's gonna be real bad so prepare your team for a few days inside, make sure your machinery is in good working order and putting the wood burning stove to good use might not be a bad idea." He informed her.

"Are we going to be safe going outside at all?"

"Not for more than a few seconds at most; I would suggest not even opening the doors." Rayne felt her blood go cold at the thought of being locked in this tiny cabin with everyone while tensions were so high coupled with the fact that there was a mysterious alien taken to fits of rage sitting not five feet behind her.

"Thank you Doctor, we will get back to you if need be." She muttered after a few moments.

"Take care Rayne and make sure everyone stays inside no matter what, over and out." He finished and disconnected, leaving them to listen to the shrill dial tone that felt foreboding.

"Now what?" Loki prompted her.

"Now we wait until the storm passes to get you the hell out of here." She responded acidly.

"And in the meantime?"

"Try not to get killed."

"It wasn't me Rayne." He told her almost desperately. She turned in her chair to find him sitting not a foot from her staring at her wide eyed and truthful.

"I didn't think it was I was just upset." She muttered, feeling ashamed for spurring him on like that. She was looking down at her lap when his hand grabbed the back of her neck gently and angled her head up to look at him once more. Once their eyes were level he quickly pulled her forward until she fell out of the chair and into his lap, their lips colliding in a perfectly orchestrated flurry of lust on Loki's part. Desire arched within both of them almost painfully as if begging them to give in and realize their true desires which was no problem for Loki but Rayne was more hesitant. It felt entirely wrong to have such fierce want for a man whom she didn't know anything about save a few minor details who was not of this earth. His lips worked against hers desperately, his tongue battling with hers and his teeth nipping her bottom lip in a way that made her ache even more. He hauled them back onto the bed and positioned her above him, her legs straddling his hips in the most comfortable position possible while she finally gave in and buried her hands in his silky black hair. Loki growled against her mouth at the searing heat she was giving off, his cock aching to be buried deep within her. Even after only knowing her a maximum of thirty six hours he felt this unmistakable draw to her and against his free will he thought that this is how Thor must have felts towards that pitiful human woman he met while on Earth.

Rayne moaned loudly against him as his hands slowly moved from her hair down her back to grip her ass almost painful and grind himself against her making tingles explode deep within her belly. She wanted so badly to give in to his ministrations but the little voice in the back of her head was too insistent to ignore.

"Loki wait…" she muttered against his lips. He pulled his mouth from hers against his will and laid there breathing heavily staring at her swollen lips and dazed eyes that only further stoked his desire for her.

"What is it?" He demanded breathlessly. The feel of her small lush body beneath his hands was almost too much to bear coupled with her heavy breathing and glazed eyes he found himself damn near murderous with the desire to feel her entirely, to thrust into her while she cried out his name. She began fidgeting and reluctantly he released her so she could sit up and maneuver herself off of him to sit on the bed beside him.

Rayne sat there taking in the delectable sight of him stretched out on the now messy bed, the t-shirt he was borrowing had worked its way up a few inches leaving a strip of skin bare and all too tempting to touch. His long black hair was fanning out haphazardly around his ethereal face that stared up at her with a frightening amount over hunger shining in his eyes.

"What are we doing? I've barely known you for a day and yet it seems completely acceptable that I throw myself at you like some sort of wanton hussy." Loki cocked his head and smiled at her colorful language.

"It's perfectly alright with me." He muttered wickedly.

"I need to focus on protecting my coworkers, not getting into your pants."

"Why can't we do both?" he smiled and wicked wickedly at her. Rayne felt anger welling up inside her at his non-chalant attitude about the things that were weighing heavily on her mind at the moment.

"You…" she snarled and began backing herself off the bed when his hand shot forward and grabbed her wrist.

"Are joking." He laughed and yanked her forward so she fell onto the mattress with her head against his shoulder.

"This is the strangest relationship I've ever had with anyone ever," She sighed and allowed herself to relax into him, relishing in the heat the surrounded her. They laid there for a few moments in complete silence; Loki's hand was absentmindedly rubbing her shoulder through the thick material of her thermal top while Rayne was playing with the fine black hairs on his lower stomach, "why won't you just tell me what you did to be sent here? Why you're acting like this is a prison sentence." She whispered, more word vomit than anything.

"If I told you you'd never touch me again." He whispered making her movements still. She felt raw fear coursing through her as well as sadness; the pain was evident and visceral in his tone but what could he have done to make him think she would act that way towards him? What if his thoughts were true? Rayne slowly angled her head up to look at him gently.

"I will be as open minded as possible; we have all screwed up and we forgive each other so why wouldn't I forgive you?" she whispered.

"Some things are unforgivable."

"Okay how about this? Want to know the worst thing I've ever done?" she offered as a way of making him more comfortable and enticing him to tell her what his deal was.

"Sure." He played along.

"Well… I'd have to go with the time when I poured super glue all over my sister's hair when she was sleeping and she woke up with it stuck to the pillow." Rayne sighed, still feeling bad about having done that when Loki released a deep bellow of laughter that made her jump.

"What? I feel terrible about it!" she declared angrily while he laid there laughing uncontrollably at what she'd told him.

"That is actually rather evil for a human," He finally told her once his laughter died down, "unfortunately I'm positive mine is worse." He finally sobered up and stared down at her darkly, fear marring his impeccable features.

"Then just tell me this; are we safe with you here?" she supplied, willing to back off the prodding until a more opportune moment arose, "am _I_ safe with you?"

Loki laid there digesting her question thoughtfully, wanting to answer her truthfully and entirely. He knew for a fact that he would bring no harm to them but for some strange, unfathomable reason it tore him up inside to be withholding information from her; he wanted nothing more than to be completely truthful and up front with her and it felt like he was doing the exact opposite.

He gazed into her hazel eyes for a moment longer before rising up on one elbow and tucking his hand into her long brown hair, pulling her forward so he could gently press his lips against hers in a gesture of comfort and sincerity. Rayne moaned lightly and laid her hands on his chest, allowing him to pull her close while his tongue carefully worked around the inside of her mouth tenderly. They were both panting and tingling with want when he finally pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

"I swear to you that you have never been safer."

**As always reviews are awesome and make me super happy :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Loki and Rayne had fallen asleep in their embrace after much talking and fighting with the others in the cabin. They were all still divided on what to do with the body and after much debate they still hadn't reached an agreeable middle ground so there it laid in the common room now wrought with rigor mortis, blood was no longer pouring from its wounds and had now turned black and sticky. Megan had woken for an hour or so only to eat and talk to Rayne a little bit before running to the bathroom to throw up then going back to bed. Rayne herself didn't feel much more fantastic; she hardly had an appetite for even Saltines and would have gone without if not for Loki insisting. Dr. Rupert and Dawson had remained in the laboratory until the time came for them to brainstorm together, that had ended in a heated argument with them storming off to their respective rooms and not returning.

All was as peaceful as possible in the small cabin until Loki heard his name being softly called from the other side of the room making him jerk awake, ready for a fight. Rayne moaned slightly and turned away from him when he sat up and dislodged her. There, across the room, stood Frigga.

"What are you doing?" he whispered scathingly. His mother was wearing a tight fitting dress made entirely of multi colored jewels and her hair was done up artfully and speckled with gems of the same colors but her eyes betrayed her glamorous façade; she looked painfully weary as though she hadn't slept a wink this entire time he'd been gone.

"I had to at least see you my son. Even though I cannot be with you in physical form this will surely be enough to tell you what I must." She slowly walked towards him, the glimmering mirage faltering for just a second across her chest but regaining its form when she stood but a few inches from him. Loki was racked with an intense ache to reach out and touch her, for her to hold him and say she forgave him.

"Is this she?" Frigga motioned over to where Rayne slept ungraciously. He felt a tingle of warmth spread through him at the sight of her so gentle and unsuspecting but quickly tamped the sensation down, not liking how it made him feel.

"Surely I do not understand what you mean but this is Dr. Rayne," He pseudo introduced her to Frigga much to the woman's pleasure but wasted no time with frivolous banter, "now why are you really here?" he demanded hotly. Frigga sighed and looked away from the woman sleeping haphazardly beside where her son currently sat looking sleepy and worse for wear.

"I wanted to see you dear; I wanted to make sure you were faring well."

"I fare just fine here."

"That is good news indeed." She smiled widely, setting Loki's nerves that more on edge.

"Care to explain what it is you have to tell me?" he prompted once more after a few moments of silence stretched out between him and the projection.

"I just wish to remind you that while you wear those bands," she nodded down to the tight gold wrapped around Loki's forearms, "you are essentially mortal; you have none of your powers save for a slight elevation in strength but that is all. She is depending on you to protect her although you may not have known it she feels deeply for you." Loki's gaze flitted to his left, seeing only her bare legs which he promptly covered with the thick comforter they had been using.

"Why are you reminding me of this?" he snarled viciously, despising how he felt towards the miniscule human lying inches from him. His blood screamed for war and death; there was nothing he enjoyed more than snuffing out life in silly plebeians who were so far beneath him it was laughable. But this woman, this damnable mortal, touched something deep inside him he hadn't even known existed.

And it made him seethe with a dark fury.

"Because your trial is fast approaching and it is crucial for you to be aware that you are no stronger than they are," Frigga's mirage slowly approached him and laid a ghostly hand upon his cheek, "let her in my son. Know love once more." She pleaded once more before disappearing entirely, leaving Loki alone to bask in his thoughts.

"Loki?" he heard Rayne mutter groggily behind him a moment before he felt her small hand begin to massage his lower back, "lay back down it's really late." He turned to respond scathingly before a strange scraping sound made them both jump and look towards the doorway from where it came. They both sat silently staring at the wooden door, willing the sound to have just been a figment of their imagination but it came once more, a shrill distant screech that sounded like someone scraping metal on metal. Loki launched himself off the bed and was followed by Rayne clumsily flinging herself out from underneath the blankets and onto the floor. She grabbed a pair of jeans from the top of her dresser and shoved one foot into them, awkwardly trying to don them while following Loki to the door where he stopped suddenly making Rayne bump into his solid form.

"What the hell is that?" she whispered as he laid his head against its worn surface. The sound came once more, this time louder and more persistent as though the metal was being pressed harder. Rayne had to cover her ears to keep from cringing at the jarring noise while Loki stood unaffected.

"Loki." She whispered, hoping to get a theory out of him. He stood there listening raptly when it sounded again and was followed by a low moan of fear. Quickly he grasped the handle and ripped the door open, storming out into the hallway with Rayne on his heels. They both sprinted to the common room, Rayne's stomach prematurely churning at the knowledge that she'd see the covered body but her gaze was caught instead by Megan sitting on the sofa facing the large window.

"Megan what are you," She began but stopped short when a shadow moved outside the window. Her and Loki stood stock still just a few feet from where Megan sat moaning and crying, her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. A dark figure could just barely be made out standing directly before the window, the sheet of glass no more than a few inches thick being all that separated them. Rayne began to slowly move around Loki to approach Megan but was quickly stopped by his arm shooting out to block her way.

"Do not move." He commanded firmly. He was unused to feeling this… helpless in the face of danger but his mother's warning had come not a moment too early; he needed to be aware of just how mortal he was at this juncture. Rayne made to retort with something scathing when the sharp rasp of metal resounded again, this time coming from behind them. She turned quickly and had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming at the image before her. Standing at the other window was another shadowed figure, this one wielding a long knife that glinted in the glow of the floodlights they had peppering the property.

"Loki there's another one." She whispered, fear making her throat tighten uncomfortably.

"I know," he responded levelly, "stay exactly where you are and do not move until I tell you to." he commanded. Rayne felt too petrified to move at this point so when Loki slowly began walking towards Megan she hardly flinched at the absence of his warmth behind her. Her mind was working a mile a minute trying to process the current situation she found herself stuck in; would the people try to break in? How were they able to be outside at this time of night during this beginning phase of the storm? She was unable to finish her train of thought before Loki gently tapped her making her turn around on a gasp.

"Slowly walk to her room." He commanded and Rayne responded immediately, taking off to Megan's room almost robotically while Loki carried the shaken woman in his arms. They were almost to the hallway when the tense silence was broken with an earsplitting shatter. Rayne ducked instinctively and Loki simply stilled, looking back stone faced. Outside the now open window was a crunching retreating from the cabin like when you walked on snow. Rayne slowly peaked her head out and saw that the duo had left them but the entire window where the man who had been without a knife had been sitting was gone. The ground was littered with shards of glass but that was about all. Ice cold air was quickly filling the room which would become uninhabitable in a few minutes time if nothing was done. Rayne ran to the kitchen and grabbed the industrial size roll of Saran wrap and made her way to the window, grabbing duct tape as she went.

"Go put her in bed. I have to cover this window." As much as it made her blood go cold, the idea of being near where one of the men had been sitting, this had to be done. Loki quickly went and laid Megan back down who was now muttering something unintelligible and tucked her in, hoping she'd silence her mind and get some sleep. When he returned Rayne had Saran wrap taped down along the top edge of the window. He helped her to cover the opening with one layer of it then repeated the steps until the wind was blocked by five or six sheets of the clear plastic.

"This will have to do until morning when everyone else is up and we can all brainstorm what to do." The wind was by in large blocked but the room was still growing colder from the sheer lack of substance in its way. Rayne sat the roll down and sighed shakily at the image before her; her 'home' was being tampered with, her intern was slowly losing her mind and she was fighting with the only friends she had in this ungodly place… what's more there was not only one but two killers out there who want lord only knows what. Before she knew it tears were falling freely down her cheeks and she was turning to the stone faced alien who was surveying the window like it held some clue as to what was happening to them.

"What are we going to do? What do they want?" she muttered brokenly, wrapping her arms around his slim muscled waist and pressing her face into his chest, the top of her head not even clearing his shoulder, "Jesus Christ Loki I feel so lost…" she whispered. He gently wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, allowing her a modicum of comfort and security. Rayne sobbed silently for a few minutes before opening her eyes and seeing the covered body still lying in the corner, "and there's still the goddamned dead body in my living room!" she declared angrily this time. Loki whipped his head around and groaned at the confirmation of what she said. Without saying anything he loosened her arms, bent down slightly and lifted her up by her thighs, wrapping them around his hips he settled his hands on her butt and carried her to the room; Rayne sobbing the entire time.

After they cleared the doorway he shoved it shut with his foot and turned, locking it with two fingers. Rayne was still crying pitifully when he laid her on the bed and settled himself above her, pressing none of his weight on her lest he hurt her. His hands came up and wiped the tears from her eyes gently, lowering his face he pressed small kisses to her cheeks until her crying ceased entirely.

"No more tears Rayne." He told her gently. He was taken aback when her face shot up and she pressed her lips against his forcefully, desperately. Her tongue dove into his mouth and her hands wound into his hair, gripping it tightly, almost painfully. Loki groaned when she arched her hips up, pressing her heated core into his now painfully rigid erection that was growing with each second she spent desperately eating at his mouth with hers.

As much as he wanted to answer her pleas with equally fervent ones of his own he felt something stop him. He found himself unwinding her hands from his hair and pulling his face from hers leaving her panting and confused. Damn if she didn't look utterly fuckable lying beneath him with swollen lips and glazed eyes…

"Rayne… you're upset and scared… don't try and do something you're going to regret in the morning just because you're looking for a distraction from your fear." He whispered, mentally screaming at himself to stop this logical gibberish and just take her hard and fast like she wanted.

"Loki I want you…" she practically begged.

"And I want you, desperately… almost murderously…" he confessed, "but only when the time is right. Only when you beg me for it and mean it." He conceded.

"Isn't this as good a time as any?" she asked, arching her hips up again to grind against him. He hissed and shoved her back down away from his rampant hard on that was making it all that much harder to think.

"No because you'll hate yourself in the morning." He reasoned. He mentally scoffed at his words; he had always taken what he wanted and held no prisoners, his first time had felt like a dark victory for him and after that it had been a near constant occurrence with many different women… why was this one so special that he would care about her feelings or the ramifications of their coupling?

"Maybe so but I want it now and that's all that matters." She continued pleading with him, her thighs tightening around his hips so she could grind against him until they were both moaning and panting, Loki's resignation slipping quickly.

"You're scared and not thinking of how much you'll regret it." He forcefully unwound her legs and pinned them down to the bed. Rayne took advantage of his inability to move lest her legs become free and arched her torso up, placing her hands behind her back she held herself a few scant inches from him; their faces nearly touching with her hot breath fanning over his face. She leaned in just a little bit more to kiss his cheek gently and whisper, "Help me forget." Then she balanced herself on one hand and touched his bare chest with the other one, reveling in how heated his skin felt against hers. Loki closed his eyes and groaned lowly, his control slipping fast and hard at the sensation of her cold skin ghosting over his. Rayne trailed her lips along his cheek that was marred with light stubble towards his mouth, hesitating slightly once she reached her destination.

"You know not what you do mortal… it is dangerous to tempt me." He warned her darkly. Rayne felt a spark of awareness and pure desire shoot up her spine making her almost moan in excitement.

"Give me your best." She countered one last time before hurriedly pressing her lips to his. Loki groaned in relief at finally being connected to her once more and released her thighs, allowing them to wind back around his hips as he roughly cradled her in his palms and pulled her tightly against him; their lips almost bruising in their desperate effort to be as close as possible to each other. Rayne scored his back viciously with her nails making Loki groan in satisfaction; the slight tinge of pain gave the whole situation a dangerous undertone that made him want her more. He took her bottom lip in between his teeth and bit down hard enough to draw blood and cause Rayne to hiss, pulling back and gazing at him through hooded eyes. Twin puncture wounds marred the tender skin beneath her lip, crimson fluid seeped from them slowly down towards her chin making Loki harder than he thought possible but then it hit him; with the look of desire undernoted with fear she was giving him it became all too clear to him.

There was no way she could handle what he was so desperate to give.

His hand shot up quickly and wiped the blood from her chin making her jump from surprise and further emphasizing his concern. He pulled his hand back and licked the blood from his thumb; savoring the essence of her while she sat there watching him, fear more evident in her gaze.

"I'm sorry Rayne." He muttered and removed his finger from his mouth, his teeth still bearing a slight smudge of her blood.

"Why did you stop?" she whispered still feeling fevered all over if not more so after his primal exhibition. Her body was alive and screaming for his touch and it pained her that he was withholding it so easily, "don't you want this?" she asked.

"More than you know," He muttered and unwound her legs from around him. Standing quickly he stormed off towards the door almost angrily, not stopping to look back at her until he finally reached the doorway and had his hand on the knob, "but it isn't safe for you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Three Days Later**

Work had continued without a hitch after they decided as a group, sans Megan who'd been inconsolable since the incident, to bury the body as deep into the permafrost as they could dig. Loki and Rayne had worked side by side while silently ignoring each other and the feelings that only grew more intensely each day that passed. The storm was still building and had not yet reached its peak but the need to go outside was minimal at best.

There had been no more run-ins with the shadowed figures that were all but forgotten about save for the window that was still covered with Saran wrap that had how become hard from the freezing temperatures. Megan rarely left her room and was the only cause for concern left in the entire cabin; Dawson and Dr. Rupert had never gotten along better and moral was at its highest.

"We are getting pretty far with our samples; only a few more left to test and thus far progress is being made." Rayne muttered and glanced over at Loki's hand that was only a tinge blue, her eyes darting back to the sheet of data before her once he noticed her gaze. He'd made no passes at her these past three days but his presence was like that of a live wire, not dangerous at face value but sparking when touched and ready to unleash it's full energy at a moment's notice.

"This one is next." Dr. Rupert delivered the sample to their table with great fervor. His excitement towards the project was greater than it had ever been and it sort of threw Rayne for a loop; he'd always been a wonderful colleague but this was unprecedented. Never before had he approached it with such ardent curiosity and excitement.

"Alright, we'll get right on it." She assured him and returned to her spreadsheets.

"How's it coming doc?" Loki whispered suddenly behind her. Rayne jumped and turned quickly, her mouth falling open to reprimand him for scaring her so badly.

"Why don't we just go and test the sample okay? It should be clear enough to go outside for a minute or two." She responded hastily making Loki smile darkly. Rayne looked back down at her papers to finish up with what she was writing down when the door to the lab opened up and Dawson came sauntering in, drunk as a skunk like usual at this time of day. Rayne simply rolled her eyes and ran her hand through her hair in frustration; surely all the alcohol had been depleted by now…

"Doctor Rayne…" he slurred and came tumbling over to where she sat. Usually he kept to himself when he was drinking but he seemed to have drank himself into a full blown stupor this time. He threw his arm over her shoulder and brought the nearly empty bottle of Bombay Sapphire to his lips, taking a deep swig of the light blue liquid nearly depleting its contents, "you've been a naughty girl..." he muttered, pressing his lips clumsily against her ear. Rayne groaned and pushed him away with her shoulder, not liking how he smelled so close to her.

"Go to bed Dawson." She told him firmly and rubbed her forehead.

"You know who he is right?" he continued now pointing at Loki who looked like the devil had just called his name his face was so crestfallen.

"What are you going on about?" she demanded after Dawson had begun giggling uncontrollably.

"He's the one Rayne," he continued while Loki stood there glaring at him venomously but doing nothing to stop him, "remember a year ago in New York? All those people that died? The Avengers Initiative? They took down a monster who wanted to enslave the entire human race… And the beast is among us." Rayne was about to contradict what Dawson was spewing but before the words could leave her mouth she stole a glance at Loki and suddenly everything fell into place; the strange feelings she had about him when they first encountered, why he was here… suddenly it was so obvious, he was being punished for the crimes he'd committed against them… that was why he wouldn't tell her the entire story of him. Rayne took off her reading glasses and slowly stood, taking carefully measured steps towards where the alien stood staring at her cautiously.

"Tell me that's not true Loki… it makes more sense than it should…" she muttered, willing herself to find some fault in Dawson's accusation but she found none.

"It's not true." He muttered unconvincingly while maintaining eye contact in a manner so unnerving it made her stomach churn, it was almost as though he was at such peace with telling a clear cut lie straight to her face.

"Mean it goddamn it!" she screamed suddenly at her wits end with the situation presented to her. Dawson was behind them giggling drunkenly while Dr. Rupert stared with his mouth hanging open at a loss for words.

"I do." He retorted with the same dead expression.

Rayne turned her head suddenly and glared at the two men watching them, "Would you please excuse us?" it was worded like a question but presented like a demand. She pointing towards the door adamantly when neither one moved, prompting them to rise from their seats before she cast her fury upon them.

Once they had evacuated the room Rayne stood there breathing heavily, staring down at the floor so she wouldn't become dizzy at the sheer force of her fury and fear. Loki stood there looking stone faced as ever but little did she know that there was true terror flowing through him at the thought of her casting him out and never speaking to him again.

"Are you truly going to believe that drunk…" Loki began to artfully construct his convincing façade that he'd been so skilled at creating when Rayne suddenly reached out towards the lab table beside her and grabbed a thick glass beaker and slammed it against the side of the table making it shatter at the end but leave the tapered top intact. She rushed up towards Loki and pressed the sharp edge against the skin of his throat making him stop midsentence.

"Save the bullshit Loki, we both know it's the truth." He gazed down at her completely unperturbed at her outburst and sudden acquisition of a weapon. He knew she was just upset, understandably so, but they both knew she wouldn't do anything to hurt him as much as she wanted to.

"What do you want me to say then?" he instigated, "I know what I've done and I've atoned for my sins."

"Just because you've paid doesn't make them go away…" she muttered, tears picking the backs of her eyes. She dug the glass into his neck just slightly until she broke the surface and blood began seeping onto the clear material; she felt a sick sort of satisfaction at his slight flinch from the pain.

"I realize this but what am I to do? Am I so unworthy of forgiveness?" he questioned evenly, Rayne knowing he was just spinning pretty words for her satisfaction.

"Do you regret it?" she asked after an eternity of silence. Loki's breath was caught in his chest at this whispered question that made him feel more vulnerable than ever. He hadn't truly thought about how he felt towards what he'd done; he still thought his intentions had been noble but as to his true feelings about it he hadn't spared them much thought. If anything he felt terrible about not succeeding but that was before he'd been exiled here and had met her… but how was he supposed to tell her that? She would surely take advantage of his feelings towards her and that scared him more than revealing them… he'd never felt more than passing lust for any woman, especially a human whom he usually viewed as lesser plebeians hardly even worth his thoughts.

Did he regret it? Deep down honestly did he feel bad for what he'd done?

Slowly he raised his hand and took her wrist in his grasp, pulling it away from his neck easily. Her eyes were flooded with tears so she didn't put up much of a fight when he pried the bloody glass from her fingers and laid it on the table, gathering her in his arms and holding her tightly as she cried while slowly guiding her out the door and down the hallway towards her room so they could have even more privacy and hopefully she would be unable to acquire a weapon. It felt strange to her to be taking such comfort in the thing that had caused her all this pain but the sensations were undeniable; she felt at home in his arms. He had been right of course… everyone is worthy of forgiveness despite of their wrongs. But this one was a little harder to get over than a simple misdeed.

"I didn't before a week ago but now…" he muttered, closing the door behind him and telling the entire truth for the first time since she'd met him, "I regret it for hurting you." She seemed put off by his pseudo declaration of admiration as was evident by her shoving herself out of his arms and glaring at him venomously.

"Do you regret it for the principle? For the fact that you killed so many people? Innocent people…" she made herself feel physically sick at the direction her thoughts were going. He stared at her blankly as though he was having a difficult time understanding the concept of true regret.

"You have to understand Rayne," he began, walking over to the bed and sitting down on it, resting his head in his hands, "I didn't do it because I wanted to kill humans; that was not even slightly the reason…" he muttered. Rayne walked over to her dresser and leaned up against it willing to hear him out and give him the benefit of the doubt even though he didn't really deserve it, "the was an unfortunate side effect. I came to your world with the intent to rule it… humans crave subservience, you instinctually desire a leader to tell you what to do and how to act but you are flawed; something inside of you rebels against these baser instincts therefore creating an inner conflict. On one hand you want someone to direct and control you while on the other hand your brains are telling you that it's wrong and to fight it…" he stood and stalked towards her making her heart speed up just slightly. His eyes were dark and he looked positively feral which made Rayne ache intensely despite her rampant anger towards him and his arcane ideals; she desired so much to forget all the hurt and fear of the past week that it made being angry only heighten the hunger thrumming between them.

Once he was standing a foot away from her he stopped, allowing his heat to caress her lightly but not envelop her. Rayne bit her lip gently and released a shaky breath making his eyes dart down hungrily to her lips.

"So no Rayne, I do not regret what I did. I would have given you all true inner peace; how can I regret that?" slowly he raised his hand and brought it to her face, touching his fingertips to the sensitive skin in front of her right ear and slowly trailing them down her jawline making heated tingles erupt upon her skin. His fingers stopped their journey at her chin so his thumb could dart forward and tug her bottom lip from between her teeth, "So take me as I am Rayne; you might not understand my intentions but to me they were noble. I am truly sorry for the death's I caused… I am living out my punishment every day for the past year; I have atoned for my sins." He whispered, his eyes never straying from her now swollen bottom lip. He felt himself hardening with the fierce desire to lean in and kiss her, to take that lip between his teeth and bite down until she bled…

"Why have you not simply killed all of us and escaped or something like that?" she muttered.

"These bands keep me from hurting anyone or using my magic." he looked down at the long gold adornments that covered him from wrist to elbow. She looked down as well and reached up to lightly touch them as though they were an illusion.

"So you can't hurt me?" she whispered in awe.

"No. Remember when we first met and I attacked you?" he asked, slightly ashamed, "When I was writhing in pain it was because of these."

"So I am completely safe for now?" she muttered, not liking the direction her thoughts her going.

"You are always safe Rayne." He muttered. She felt like she was not in control of her body in the slightest; heat was pouring through her making her thoughts hazy and before she knew it she lunged herself into his arms and smashed her mouth against his. Loki wrapped one arm around her back and anchored one beneath her butt allowing her to wrap her legs around his hips, pressing his aching erection against her heated core and successfully forcing a moan from deep inside him. He was completely taken by surprise at this sharp turn of events but he wasn't about to complain; he truly wanted her forgiveness but this was the next best thing. Her mouth was moving desperately against his, her tongue darting in and out of his almost timidly. She had her hands fisted in his soft hair so tightly it made his scalp burn painfully but that made the entire situation all the more maddening. Roughly he unwound her legs from around him and dropped her to stand on her own two feet, her mouth swollen and panting. He grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her back roughly so she was pressed against the wall staring at him dazedly. Loki stepped forward so his body was pressed against hers, leaning down he gently took her earlobe between his teeth and nibble slightly.

"How sweet you must taste… mortal." Loki muttered hotly in Rayne's ear making shivers trapeze up and down her spine deliciously; her fingers curling against the faux wood paneling lining her bedroom. His breath was warm and heavy against her skin, it smelled of wintergreen and something alien, almost frosty… like the first snowfall in the winter, fresh and livening. She took her lip between her teeth once again out of nervous habit and suddenly he looked reminded of something. He grabbed her chin and yanked roughly so her lip was dislodged.

"That's mine to bite," He told her sternly, "and bite I shall." He declared before lowering his head and crashing his lips against hers, igniting her nerves in a symphony of flames that made her weak in the knees. This being the first kiss they mutually shared since she'd thrown herself at him few days ago felt like a huge sigh of relief, like it had been waiting to happen and now that it finally was all felt right. Roughly he grabbed her bottom lip with his much harsher teeth and bit down until she tasted blood and even then she couldn't bring herself to stop him.

He slowly released her lip but didn't move his mouth and whispered against her, "Your tolerance for pain stuns me mortal, even Asgardian women stopped me before I drew blood." His tongue darted out and licked up the dot of blood forming above the wound.

"I…" she started but stopped herself. He quickly pulled his face away from hers and stared at her wide eyed, his nerves on edge at what she would potentially say. He hoped against all rational, sane hope that she would utter the words he was ever so eager to hear.

"You what?" he prompted hotly. She looked scared, hesitant, as though she wasn't sure how he would react to what she had to say.

"I like it… I mean I think it like it, I don't have a basis for comparison." She muttered, looking down at the floor. Blood was slowly running down her chin making him grind his teeth with lust combined with the confession that this was her first time.

"You're serious?" He muttered, unable to believe it. Her head snapped up and she glared at him angrily.

"Is it so hard to believe?" she demanded.

"Actually no." he laughed and ran his hands through his hair, unsure of how to proceed beyond this point. He stared at her incredulously, picturing the various methods with which he could initiate her but all seemed too intense or frightening especially for a virgin.

"What are you waiting for?" she ground out, pissed off at the fact that now he was acting different.

"I'm trying to think of how to proceed." He told her honestly. Generally he took what he wanted and harbored no regrets but for some reason it didn't seem right to gag her, bind her, bend her over the dresser and take her viciously…

"Well I'm no china doll so don't treat me like one." She muttered. His hands clenched into fists in his long black hair at her insistent declaration, he could scarcely believe how hard he was from her bravery and innocence.

Finally he gave in to his primal sense and ripped his hands from his hair, grabbing onto her wrists he hauled her against him swiftly and lowered his face towards hers until their lips were nearly touching, the height difference only further increasing his lust, "I have no such intentions of treating you gently mortal," his tongue darted out and licked up the blood on her chin, "in fact what we're about to do might just frighten you."

"I like being scared." She challenged him hotly making him groan and nip her chin gently.

"Well you've chosen the right man for that." He whispered, dropping his lips down to hers to kiss her ever so gently before swiftly grabbing her shoulders and twisting her around roughly so she faced the wall. He placed a hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her forward until she leaned against the faux wood, his hands holding hers behind her back. Quickly he looked around the room but found nothing useful so he decided to make do with what was readily available.

"Don't move from this spot." He commanded and released her slowly, watching to make sure she wasn't going to move as he back up towards the bed. When he was satisfied with her statue like stance he turned and yanked the thick comforter from the bed and grabbed the sheet, taking it between his fingers he ripped it lengthwise until he had two long inch wide strands dangling from his hands. Without hesitation he rushed back up to her and quickly bound her wrists with one of the strips of cloth until he felt satisfied knowing she was completely unable to free herself.

"How does that feel?" he muttered, leaning down to kiss her neck gently making her shiver.

"It feels fine." She told him bravely when in reality she was terrified. She jumped slightly when his hand touched her back and ran up her spine gently to rest in her hair at the end of its journey. They stayed standing like that for a few seconds before his hand suddenly fisted and he yanked her head back so far she could look him in the eye, albeit upside down.

"We shall save the gagging for next time; at the present I have far too many scintillating plans for that wicked mouth of yours." He kissed the edge of her lips tenderly and released her head. He quickly positioned the other strip of cloth over her eyes before she could protest and wrapped it around her head until the end was reached then tied it in a knot at the base of her skull.

"How does this feel?" he prompted as if daring her to say it felt anything other than extraordinary.

"Fucking amazing." She challenged, further igniting his lust. Grinding his teeth as his self -control slipped incrementally, he grabbed her small shoulder in his much larger hand and shoved her down to the ground so quickly she nearly ended up a heap on the floor but she regained her balance at the last second and only ended up faltering slightly. He walked around to stand in front of her kneeling form, his hand diving into her hair and massaging her scalp in a deceiving gesture of kindness.

"Does this not suit you better?" he began, running his hand from her hair down her cheek slowly until he reached her mouth, his thumb stroking her plump lower lip gently, "kneeling before a god… I said it before and I shall say it again," he muttered darkly, his hand moving from her cheek and mouth down to her jaw to grip it painfully tight and angle her head upwards, leaning down he pressed his lips against her cheek and muttered venomously, "you were made to kneel."


	10. Chapter 10

**Sexy time is about to ensue so be prepared!**

Rayne held her breath after what he'd just declared. Her stomach was knotted with fear at the knowledge that he'd said that to the people he'd intended to enslave… but it also wracked her with intense heat, the insinuation that was ever so clearly presented behind those words. She wished she could open her eyes and look at him but nothing could be seen through the blindfold he had created on the fly.

"So what do you say Rayne?" he whispered, his lips had moved to press gently against the shell of her ear, "think you can handle it?" he instigated, making her temper flare. She didn't like to come off as a coward, hated it actually, so she ground her teeth and stood firm with her resolve to take this as far as it could go. His cheek was pressed against hers while he breathed hotly down the side of her neck so she used that as a guide and turned her head slightly, taking his earlobe between her teeth she bit down harshly enough to make him hiss but he never moved.

"Give it everything you've got." She smiled against his skin and kissed it gently. Loki growled deeply and yanked himself back, standing tall and towering above her. He gazed down at her in amazement; unable to believe her spirit and her fire… Even Asgardian women had been hesitant to allow him so much freedom when it came to matters of the bedroom.

He knew he couldn't let himself loose completely but he could damn well come close.

Loki reached forward tentatively, his fingers mere centimeters from their destination; her wayward hairs tickled them lightly. He took a deep breath and plunged his fingers into her hair, fisting them tightly he hauled her up roughly and pulled her against him, smashing his face against hers his lips collided with hers almost painfully, his tongue plunging into her mouth to wrestle with hers and caress every available inch she would allow him. His fingers tighten when she met his voracity with one just as powerful; it made him ache to be closer than physically possible with her.

Rayne wrapped her leg around his in her own desperate plea for nearness just before he released her mouth and hair, his now free hand slammed onto her shoulder and twirled her around, pressing her against the dresser off to the side of where they had just been standing.

"You know not what your words do to me," He snarled in her ear. His hand slowly moved over her shoulder to the hem of her shirt, fingering it lightly as if teasing, "I'm not so sure you are ready for it." He prodded making her temper flare but she remained silent. Fear was making itself more known the further his fingers advanced upon her skin but it was offset with a sick sort of excitement that took precedence. He continued slowly moving his hand down the neck of her shirt along her heated skin; he could feel her heart beating a mile a minute even though he was only lightly touching her. Once his fingers reached the swell of her right breast he stopped, listening intently to the pattern of her breathing which, sure enough, picked up speed. He leaned his head forward and pressed his lips gently to her cheek.

"Rayne…" he whispered breathlessly. He couldn't remember a time he had been so hard for a woman… it was a bone deep ache that demanded satisfaction and in any other case he would be all too willing to assuage it but something was different about this time.

"Loki…" she whispered back.

"Are you certain?" he checked for the last time before they reached the point of no return.

"Yes," She answered immediately. He yanked his hand from her shirt and began tugging at the bonds hold her wrists, "what are you doing?" she asked, panicking.

"Next time, and there _will_ be a next time, I shall truss you up and take you against the wall but not this time…" he had the knot undone and was tugging on the tightly sound cloth that was loosening rapidly. He moved to undo the knot at the base of her skull and allow the material to fall to her chest, "this time we shall have none of this," he declared, removing the scraps from where they rested and dropping them to the ground. He gripped the hem of her shirt and quickly yanked it upwards until she had to lift her arms and it came sailing off and onto the floor. He then repeated the action with his own infernal mortal clothing all the way down to his underwear. Rayne was already working on her pants but once the enclosure was released Loki kneeled and yanked them down to the floor to join the rest of their pile. He stayed kneeling before her just staring at her half naked; admiring her light peach complexion and the few freckles she had here and here. Rayne stood there staring down at him, too overwhelmed to be embarrassed. Tentatively he lifted his large hands and placed then on her soft belly, his thumbs rubbing the sensitive skin there. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her heated flesh making her shiver, "this time I want to watch your face as I break down your walls and tear you from yourself… as I make you _mine._" He whispered darkly against her skin, his eyes never leaving hers. Slowly and gently he lifted her as he stood and walked her over to the bed, keeping her pressed flush against him while his mouth nuzzled her neck making her moan.

"Loki…" she moaned as he laid her down on the now messy surface of the bed and held himself above her, not allowing his full weight to crush her. He gazed down at her lustfully but also hesitantly… he knew not how to proceed given his current state. He felt an overwhelming desire to rip her panties off and slam himself to the hilt inside of her but something made him stop, something made him want to take things slow and to cherish the moment.

"Damn you mortal!" he snarled viciously before slamming his mouth against hers once more. Balancing himself on one hand he fought his conscience and grabbed her black cotton panties in his fist, pulling them harshly he ripped them from her body to bare her almost entirely save the black cotton bra. Rayne gasped against his mouth and began to squirm against him, all too excited about everything. His mouth moved against hers enough to leave bruises, his tongue plunging in and taking no prisoners while he threw the panties towards the end of the bed and grabbed her knee, pushing it to the side so her legs were spread slightly. He continued his assault on her mouth but trailed his fingers softly from her knee down the inside of her thigh making her giggle, to press against her core. Rayne gasped in surprise this time, pulling her mouth from his.

"Loki wait." She pleaded. He pulled his hand away and sat up on his knees, presumably to give her room to breathe. Rayne lay staring at the ceiling taking deep breaths over and over again while Loki stood and yanked his underwear down to the floor. She was on her tenth breath when he grabbed both her knees and yanked them apart. Rayne raised her head quickly to shout something at him but was stopped short by his mouth rushing up upon her. Rayne threw her head back and released a nearly silent moan as he worked his tongue against her; she knew she should have been embarrassed and bashful but the sensations were too overwhelming to care about silly emotions such as those. Loki moved his hands down to hold her legs apart by her thighs, his tongue flicking her clit just before he sealed his lips around it and sucked until he was sure she would scream.

"Loki…" she muttered, unsure of what to think of the strange sensations spiraling through her. A tingling was quickly growing at the juncture of her thighs, spreading outward it began encompassing her belly and legs… it felt like a bomb poised to explode if he would only lick her a few more times…

"Jesus Christ Loki…" she uttered more forcefully. Loki knew she was close to coming and it pleased him to no end but he ceased his ministrations with one last forceful tug on her clit. Rayne moaned loudly but was quickly silence by his lips upon hers.

"See how sweet you taste mortal," He snarled against her lips making her blush, "the trick is," he began, grabbing her thighs and pulling them apart so she was once again spread wide, "not to think about it." He declared a mere second before plunging into her. Rayne screamed against his mouth at the barrage of conflicting sensations that swamped her; there was the vicious ripping pain of him fully seating himself within her for the first time combined with the bliss that spread through her like wildfire… he had delivered the relief he his tongue had been promising. He was also hit with contradictory sensations; he felt complete orgasm inducing relief at being fully sheathed inside of her, he had been without such sensations for over a year now, and the sharp burn of the arm bands that reacted to the pain of her first time.

"Fuck…" he growled as the pain began to transform into a bone deep ache; the kind that makes you weak and renders you useless. Rayne was still writhing beneath him, her tight wet heat convulsing around him with the power of her orgasm. Loki gritted his teeth against the pain and pulled his hips back until just his throbbing head was in her. Steeling himself he surged forward back into her making her scream and claw at his shoulders. The pain tightened around his spine as well as his inevitable climax.

"Loki!" she held on tightly as he began pistoning in and out of her quickly, drawing out her orgasm until she felt boneless. Her nails were leaving long bloody lines across his shoulders which only further excited him and made him drive into harder and harder until the bed began hitting the wall and she actually laughed at the sound, "slow down they might hear!" she laughed and moaned.

"I never want to slow down…" he groaned, his hands fisting tightly in the sheets on either side of her head. He could feel her orgasm building anew, spurring him on as though it were a challenge, "I never want to leave…" he muttered breathlessly.

Rayne was practically being shoved back to the precipice where he had just had her. The white hot bliss wrapped around her spine and tugged at her stomach, teasing her with what was to come.

Loki felt himself dangerously close as well. The pain had melded with the pleasure until the two were indistinguishable; they complimented each other in the way that one heightened the other until he felt himself slipping. Shards of ecstasy tore through his muscles and exploded behind his eyes in little flashes of white. He shouted loudly as her wet heat began convulsing and he finally allowed himself relief inside her. Rayne screamed as her second orgasm ran rampant through her system mirroring his own. Finally he stilled, his release still pulsing through him.

They lay in that position for another minute or two until Loki finally pulled himself from within her and stood; Rayne felt empty and bereft at the loss

"I don't like how you make me feel." He muttered, staring at the trace amount of blood on her thighs. Rayne lifted herself into a sitting position and gathered the sheet over her lap, suddenly uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You make me feel…" he began, finding it difficult to choose the right term, "love." He sounded ill at ease but sincere none the less.

Rayne had a retort on the tip of her tongue and was about to declare it when the gold bands on his arms suddenly fell off and a helmet complete with long arching horns appeared on his head along with the garb exactly like he had been wearing when he first arrive except cleaner and shinier. He stared down at his new get up like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, Rayne stared at it in much the same manner.

"Oh shit…" she whispered.

**Reviews are the best in the world so PLEASE let me know what you think! **

**XOXO**

**-Gabby**


	11. Chapter 11

** Asgard**

Thor sat in his gilded throne staring down at the audience before him. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were standing beside Odin and Frigga all of whom looked concerned… Thor, however, could not have been more distracted.

"Do you think it wise to allow him his magic? He is still on Midgard which, you all shall recall, he attempted to overthrow last time he was there!" Sif declared heatedly. Thor felt his temper snapping at her lack of respect but kept it reigned in tightly, his fingers clenching into fists.

"He has earned them back," Frigga began, "those were the terms and conditions. Once he displayed love and kindness, genuinely, he would have his magic restored. I have full confidence in him." she declared proudly.

"You are biased Frigga," Sif countered angrily, "He is a dangerous menace that should have been executed once he was returned to Asgard a year ago!" This made Thor stand and rush down the steps to where the smaller warrior stood seething.

"You will watch your tone Lady Sif or I shall have you removed." He whispered lowly. Her eyes seemed to spark with fury at his warning so she took a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back, showing him no obedience.

"You, my King, are in no state to rule… your mind is far too plagued with other things," she began dangerously, "your brother needs to die." She finished. They stood there glaring at each other for what felt like an eternity to those around them; their fury nearly palpable. Lady Sif had a point, Loki had proven to be highly volatile and incredibly dangerous but Thor's plan also had merit, everyone was worthy of a second chance no matter what.

"How dare you…" he snarled lowly, his arm reaching out behind him to call for Mjönir. Once the weapon slammed into his hand Odin stepped forward and pushed the two warriors apart.

"Thor calm down, Lady Sif know your place." They both took a few steps back and a few deep breaths.

"Thor is king and his word is law," Odin told Sif in warning, "Should you choose to display such flagrant insolence again there shall be nothing I can do to stop his anger." Sif seemed more enraged by this but held her tongue.

"This is the situation," Thor declared, returning to his throne, "Loki has been granted his magic but he shall be closely monitored. Should he use it to harm or anything of that nature he shall be returned to Asgard and put to death. Should he, however, show true redemption… he shall be free from imprisonment and shall be allowed to carry on with his life. This is final and not subject to negotiation." He glared down at Sif knowingly and motioned with his hand for them to leave.

Once everyone had fled the king of Asgard stood and stalked off towards his quarters to deal with the situation that had him nearly unable to function.

##

**Midgard**

Loki stood there looking down at his ensemble disbelievingly. Magic surged through his veins in a flurry of sparks making him feel enlivened. He looked up at Rayne who was staring at him with nothing short of pure terror marring her features.

To test things out he reached out his hand and flexed his fingers making the glass on her nightstand rise and begin to float towards him. Rayne gasped and covered her mouth to keep from screaming as the glass passed by her and landed in his hand. Loki laughed manically as he gripped the glass and set it down on her dresser. He exhaled loudly with a smile and looked around as though the room suddenly looked different. His eyes eventually landed back on her and he smiled even more widely. Suddenly a group of ten of him appeared all around the room, all smiling and laughing. This time Rayne did scream as the eleven Loki's looked at each other with amusement.

"Do you know what this means?!" they all asked her in unison, each looking like an excited little school boy.

Rayne shook her head, her eyes darting to each one of the Loki's who were damn near jumping up and down. One of the Loki's picked her up and twirled her around whilst clutching her tightly to his chest making it all that more difficult to breathe. She couldn't tell for certain if this was the real Loki who was now smiling down at her; he looked and felt real but right now she couldn't be certain of anything.

"It means I can go home... I can leave this god-awful planet! " he muttered, his duplicates suddenly vanished. Evidently this one is the original one. Rayne felt her heart split in two at this declaration; she didn't want him to leave despite his admittance to his past crimes… she genuinely felt something for him and it ached to make her think he could throw it all away so easily.

It also enraged her.

She shoved herself out of his arms and stalked back around the bed to pick up her clothing and yank it on angrily. She felt thoroughly used and forgotten which only made her want to lash out and attack him.

"Go then." She snarled, tugging her t-shirt back on over her head. He stood there staring at her as though he couldn't possibly fathom why she didn't share his excitement.

"Why this shift in mood?" he asked.

"You really don't get it do you?" she shouted before he uttered the last syllable, "of course not! To you we are no more than just petty little peons to be ruled and directed! We have no minds of our own and we are CERTAINLY not on your godly level!" she screamed, tears running down her face at the sudden onslaught of emotion about what she had just done and what he was insinuating he would do. She ran her hands through her hair and fisted them in pure, raw frustration; staring at his regal otherworldly clothing and gilded helmet only made her more weak, "looking at me now makes me realize the monster you truly are… but your vendetta is for naught Loki… you were brought to your knees by a pitiful little human who is little more than a speck of dirt upon your presumptuous boots…" she approached him slowly, taking easy measured steps until she stood not two inches from him. She could feel pure energy radiating from him; his eyes glowed a brighter, more flawless Robin's Egg blue, his skin shone like it was illuminated from the inside, his hair was the purest, deepest black and was now perfectly slicked back with not one strand out of place… he looked every bit the god he claimed to be, "but you fucked a human… you begged for it and that is something you can never run away from." He glared down at her with nothing short of pure fury at her lack of respect and was just about to utter an equally scathing retort to combat the pure ache swelling inside him when a loud, high pitched scream resounded from down the hall.

They stared at each other for just a moment longer before Rayne whipped around and ran towards the door, Loki immediately behind her. Ripping the door open she rushed outside towards Megan's room only to catch the floor wrong and fall flat on her butt.

"Shit…" she muttered, planting her palm against the floor behind her she tried to push herself upwards to a standing position only to lose her grip and fall back down.

"Rayne sit absolutely still." Loki commanded. Rayne looked down at the floor and felt her stomach turn over when she was met with the fire engine red pool of blood leading from the common room all the way to almost the lab door.

"Oh god…" she moaned, her stomach convulsing. The lab door was thrown open, Dr. Rupert and Dawson came charging out until they both slipped on the blood and barely caught themselves.

"Rayne what the hell is going on?!" Dr. Rupert demanded, looking down at the floor then looking back up at Rayne and Loki, "What the fuck happened to him? Get hit with the freak stick?" Loki opened his mouth as if to retort but was stopped by Megan's piercing scream being cut off by a sickening gurgling sound.

"Oh my god!" Rayne screamed, her mind immediately flooded with the absolute worst thoughts possible. Instead of trying to get up and sliding in the dangerously slick fluid on the floor she crawled to her intern's door and grabbed the handle, jiggling it as best she could with her saturated hand, "Megan!" she screamed when the door refused to open. The handle was loose and functioning but something was blocking it, "Open the door Megan! Please!" She continued to cry out, tears falling rapidly from her eyes. Dr. Rupert and Dawson were slipping and sliding there way over to where Rayne kneeled while Loki was standing there thinking of what to do; should he stay and subject himself to this pitiful display of humanity or should he use the bulk of his magic to transport himself home?

Seeing Rayne kneeling at the younger woman's door crying uncontrollably made the answer easy.

"Back up Rayne." He commanded. She turned and glared at him but pulled away from the door none-the-less; a split second later the door came flying off its hinges into the wall directly beside him. Before any of them could say anything Rayne was charging into the room with Loki and the two other men hot on her heels.

The room was awash with frost and snow, the temperature was quickly falling and Megan was half hanging out the shattered window. Rayne ran up to her and grabbed her by her leg, yanking her back into the safety of the room.

"Oh my god!" She screamed, dropping the woman's leg. Megan's entire torso was torn to shreds, not a single inch of organs remaining; her clothes were stiff with now frozen blood. Rayne stood there staring at the mutilated woman, unable to scream the horror was so overwhelming. She just stood there shaking as Dr. Rupert turned and dry heaved, Dawson ran from the room and into the bathroom, emptying the entire contents of his stomach, Loki stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Rayne, holding her to his chest and turning her head away from the woman lying on the bed. He cupped the back of her head and held it to his chest, turning them both away from the sight before them they walked out into the hall.

"She was only nineteen…" Rayne moaned, tears falling more rapidly. Loki clutched her closer as they waded through the inch thick blood now oxidizing and turning syrupy on the floor, "She trusted me…" she continued.

"Calm down Rayne," Loki led her through her bedroom door towards the bed, depositing her on its surface but she refused to lay down; instead her hands grabbed his and held them tightly, her eyes searching his desperately, "you're going to make yourself sick if you keep freaking out." He whispered.

"Loki please don't leave," She begged, voice laced with hysteria, "please… please…" she mumbled almost unintelligibly.

"Calm down." He whispered.

"I can't figure this out by myself… I need your help… please…" she began sobbing loudly; pulling his hands to her chest she pressed her cheek against them and shuttered.

"I'm not leaving Rayne." He assured her. Her head snapped up, her eyes bright with relief.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm not leaving you." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head gently. She released his hands quickly and threw them around his shoulders, pulling him in close so she could press her face against his neck.

"Thank you… thank you…" she repeated over and over against his neck, her relief nearly tangible.

"Do you trust me?" he asked after a few moments of near silence only broken by the occasional sob. He felt her nod against him; placing his hands against her head he released a slow, steady stream of energy that rapidly seeped through her skin into her brain, calming her nerves and allowing her to rest. She slumped against him groggily, allowing him to lay her down properly on the bed so he could go and deal with the dual situations happening outside the door.

Grabbing the comforter he lifted it over her up to her chin so she was completely covered. She smiled and moaned, pulling it closer while turning slightly onto her side. He sat on the bed beside her and lifted his hand to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Loki…" she mumbled sleepily, "I love you."


End file.
